Shoes Thrown at Bush Press Conference in Iraq

[Crazedwraith]

Shoes thrown at Bush on Iraq trip

A surprise visit by US President George Bush to Iraq has been overshadowed by an incident in which two shoes were thrown at him during a news conference.

An Iraqi journalist was wrestled to the floor by security guards after he called Mr Bush "a dog" and threw his footwear, just missing the president.

The soles of shoes are considered the ultimate insult in Arab culture.

During the trip, Mr Bush and Iraqi PM Nouri Maliki signed the new security agreement between their countries.

The pact calls for US troops to leave Iraq in 2011 - eight years after the 2003 invasion that has in part defined the Bush presidency.

Speaking just over five weeks before he hands over power to Barack Obama, Mr Bush also said the war in Iraq was not over and more work remained to be done.

His previously unannounced visit came a day after US Defence Secretary Robert Gates told US troops the Iraq mission was in its "endgame".

'Size 10'

In the middle of the news conference with Mr Maliki, a reporter stood up and shouted "this is a goodbye kiss from the Iraqi people, dog," before hurtling his shoes at Mr Bush, narrowly missing him.

"All I can report is a size 10," Mr Bush said according to the Associated Press news agency.

The shoe thrower was taken away by security guards and the news conference continued.

Correspondents called it a symbolic incident. Iraqis threw shoes and used them to beat Saddam Hussein's statue in Baghdad after his overthrow.

'American security'

Mr Bush's first stop upon arriving in Baghdad was the Iraqi presidential palace in the heavily-fortified Green Zone, where he held talks with President Jalal Talabani.

"The work hasn't been easy but it's been necessary for American security, Iraqi hope and world peace," Mr Bush said during his talks with Mr Talabani.

The Iraqi president called Mr Bush "a great friend for the Iraqi people, who helped us liberate our country".

The BBC's Humphrey Hawksley, in Baghdad, says the key issue at present is exactly how American troops will withdraw within the next three years and what sort of Iraq they will leave behind.

The US media has just published details of a US government report saying that post invasion reconstruction of Iraq was crippled by bureaucratic turf wars and an ignorance of the basic elements of Iraqi society.

The report is circulating among US officials in draft form, says the New York Times.

It reveals details of a reconstruction effort that cost more than $100bn (£67bn) and only succeeded in restoring what was destroyed in the invasion and the widespread looting that followed it, the newspaper said.

Troop promises

Mr Bush's visit, unannounced in advance and conducted under tight security, follows the approval last month of a security pact between Washington and Baghdad that calls for US troops to be withdrawn from Iraq by the end of 2011.

US troops are first to withdraw from Iraqi cities, including Baghdad, by June next year.

Defence Secretary Gates said on Saturday that "the process of the drawdown" had begun.

"We are, I believe, in terms of the American commitment, in the endgame here in Iraq," he told US troops at an airbase near Baghdad.

Mr Gates has been picked to stay on as defence secretary by President-elect Barack Obama.

President Bush leaves the White House in less than six weeks. He said in a recent interview with ABC News that the biggest regret of his presidency was the false intelligence that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction.

Finding these was one of the key justifications for the invasion. None were ever found.

Mr Obama has promised to bring home US combat troops from Iraq in a little over a year from when he takes office in January.

More than 4,200 US troops and tens of thousands of Iraqi civilians and security personnel have been killed since the invasion in 2003.

There are currently about 149,000 US soldiers in Iraq, down from last year's peak of 170,000 after extra troops were poured in to deal with a worsening security situation.

As Mr Bush arrived in Baghdad, Gen David Petraeus, the head of the US Central Command, which includes Iraq, said attacks in the country had dropped from 180 a day in June 2007 to 10 a day now.

In a sign of modest security gains in Iraq, Mr Bush was welcomed with a formal arrival ceremony - a flourish that was not part of his previous three visits.

He arrived in the country on Air Force One, which landed at Baghdad International Airport in the afternoon, after a secretive Saturday night departure from Washington on an 11-hour flight.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/w ... 782422.stm

Published: 2008/12/14 19:16:18 GMT

© BBC MMVIII

The 'All I can say is "size 10"' is actually pretty witty for Bush.

[Fire Fly]

I saw a video of the incident and wow, Bush has fast reflexes.

[Darth Onasi]

LOL, looks like all those internet "throw things at Bush" games have made it to real life.

[Broomstick]

I saw a video of the incident and wow, Bush has fast reflexes.

He's stupid, not crippled.

[Chris OFarrell]

Well at least the Secret Service agents didn't overreact and shoot the guy...though they are probably getting a dressing down for not reacting fast enough given that the guy could have thrown a knife or something. I do think Bush handled himself quite well though, waving the agent who jumped up at him back and keeping in control.

[Kanastrous]

I hope that the shoe thrower isn't made to suffer for this. Although he probably will be.

[Edi]

I think the reason they went so easy on him is that anyone who was in that room had already been through a thorough security checkup, so there was no possibility of there being a gun or knife on them. A shoe to the face would hurt, but it'd do no lasting damage.

[Captain Seafort]

He's stupid, not crippled.

Still, I don't think I've seen him move that fast before. The fact that the throw wasn't great helped.

I do think Bush handled himself quite well though, waving the agent who jumped up at him back and keeping in control.

Was that "keeping in control" or simple (and understandable) bafflement? It seemed more like the latter to me.

[Sea Skimmer]

Well at least the Secret Service agents didn't overreact and shoot the guy...though they are probably getting a dressing down for not reacting fast enough given that the guy could have thrown a knife or something. I do think Bush handled himself quite well though, waving the agent who jumped up at him back and keeping in control.

I’d bet they had special orders for a situation like this… everyone had to know there was a good chance of something like this happening and an overreaction could be a political disaster that undid the entire status of forces agreement. I’m sure they searched everyone entering very thoroughly; an Iraqi entering the heart of the green zone is going to pass through a couple different searches and checkpoints before they get to whatever security was outside that room specifically. So a throwing knife is quite unlikely. You could smuggle in a ceramic knife I’m sure, but those probably don’t throw too well given the low mass.

[Ender]

"Who throws a shoe? Honestly."

[CarsonPalmer]

I hope that the shoe thrower isn't made to suffer for this. Although he probably will be.

He shouldn't be made to suffer, but he should have to deal with at least some consequences, even if they are light ones. You can't just go around throwing shoes at people (and yes, I do realize how silly that sounds).

[Darth Onasi]

I have to wonder if from now on, people attending these press conferences and such will be forced to turn in their shoes at the door.

[Bilbo]

I hope that the shoe thrower isn't made to suffer for this. Although he probably will be.

He shouldn't be made to suffer, but he should have to deal with at least some consequences, even if they are light ones. You can't just go around throwing shoes at people (and yes, I do realize how silly that sounds).

To be overly picky it would be entirely possible to charge this person with assault. He could have easily broken someone's nose with that throw.

Whether this happens or not doesnt really matter to me. He is going to lose his job for this and pick up a new one with one of the whacky papers in country that cater to the carious militia groups.

[JME2]

"Who throws a shoe? Honestly."

"You fight like a woman!"

In all seriousness, I was wondering if something like this would happen before Dubya got the boot.

[The Guid]

"Who throws a shoe? Honestly."

"You fight like a woman!"

In all seriousness, I was wondering if something like this would happen before Dubya got the boot.

BOOM BOOM! I think these poor puns need to stop however, I'm not shoer how many more we can squeeze out. Althought we might get some good ones.

Oh look at me flip flop.

[FSTargetDrone]

Still, I don't think I've seen him move that fast before.

Pity his intellect isn't as swift

Anyway, concerning the shoe-thrower:

In the middle of the news conference with Mr Maliki, Iraqi television journalist Muntadar al-Zaidi stood up and shouted "this is a goodbye kiss from the Iraqi people, dog," before hurling a shoe at Mr Bush which narrowly missed him.

Showing the soles of shoes to someone is a sign of contempt in Arab culture.

With his second shoe, which the president also managed to dodge, Mr Zaidi said: "This is for the widows and orphans and all those killed in Iraq."

Mr Zaidi, a correspondent for Cairo-based al-Baghdadiya TV, was then wrestled to the ground by security personnel and hauled away.

"If you want the facts, it's a size 10 shoe that he threw," Mr Bush joked afterwards.

Al-Baghdadiya's bureau chief told the Associated Press that he had no idea what prompted Mr Zaidi to attack President Bush, although reports say he was once kidnapped by a militia and beaten up.

"I am trying to reach Muntadar since the incident, but in vain," said Fityan Mohammed. "His phone is switched off."

Correspondents said the attack was symbolic. Iraqis threw shoes and used them to beat Saddam Hussein's statue after his overthrow.

So if the bolded part above is true, Zaidi may have personally suffered in a somewhat convoluted way as a result of Bush's invasion (invasion->breakdown of law and order->kidnapping by radicals->beating). Notwithstanding Zaidi's feelings about the widows and orphans, of course.

I object to calling Bush a dog. Dogs don't deserve such a slight!

[JME2]

BOOM BOOM! I think these poor puns need to stop however, I'm not shoer how many more we can squeeze out. Althought we might get some good ones.

Oh look at me flip flop.

I believe this will help with the puns...

[Schuyler Colfax]

BOOM BOOM! I think these poor puns need to stop however, I'm not shoer how many more we can squeeze out. Althought we might get some good ones.

Oh look at me flip flop.

I believe this will help with the puns...

I'm not even sure if I want to click that or not.

EDIT: Never mind.

As for Dubya's reflexes I have to give the guy some credit on keeping his composure. Knowing me I would have dropped to the floor. At least the way he did it, he didn't look like a pussy.

[The Yosemite Bear]

Well we've seen Bush deal with protesters before, he likes things completely under his thumb, but anytime there's someone who disagrees with him at a news confrence, he jokes, belittles the person (and thus there complaint), and has them arrested.

just look at what he's done to Gold Star moms, and anti-patriot act people in the USA.

[weemadando]

At the risk of being permanently banned from entering the US, I kinda wish that they'd hit him.

In fact, every single person who I've talked to today has expressed that exact opinion.

[The Yosemite Bear]

now now, I just believe that he should spend the rest of his life in prison for the crimes of his adminstration....

[Samuel]

At the risk of being permanently banned from entering the US, I kinda wish that they'd hit him.

In fact, every single person who I've talked to today has expressed that exact opinion.

Nope- only throwing pretzels at the C&C will get you in trouble- anything less is in bad taste, but not an actual threat.

[The Yosemite Bear]

At the risk of being permanently banned from entering the US, I kinda wish that they'd hit him.

In fact, every single person who I've talked to today has expressed that exact opinion.

Nope- only throwing pretzels at the C&C will get you in trouble- anything less is in bad taste, but not an actual threat.

I don't know, stale bagels could be considered a dangerous weapon...

[Executor32]

That, and this close to Christmas you have to watch out for those fruitcake fiends.

Also, apparently Press Secretary Dana Perino has a black eye after a mic got shoved into it during the struggle with the shoe-thrower.

[Darth Onasi]

Such petty violence solves nothing. If being hit by a shoe would somehow teleport Bush and his administration to a war crimes trial, strike his presidency from the record and bankrupt the Bush family then that'd be another matter..