Iraq TV demands release of Bush shoe attacker

[Mari333]

Source: AFP

'BAGHDAD (AFP) — An Iraqi television station on Monday demanded the immediate release of one of its journalists who caused a furore when he hurled shoes at visiting US President George W. Bush.

Muntazer al-Zaidi jumped up as Bush was holding a press conference with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki on Sunday, shouted "It is the farewell kiss, you dog" and threw two shoes at the US leader.'
In Cairo, Muzhir al-Khafaji, programming director for the television channel, described Zaidi as a "proud Arab and an open-minded man."

"We fear for his safety," he added.

Read more: http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iSKIyDz7A8HYTY9S6GiDvQ9eykKQ

[rucognizant]

1. ANd well they might!

In spite of bush's "cute" reaction, I have wondered if the shoe throwwer was been tortured? as a result?

[Breathe]

10. It wouldn't be the first time he was tortured

This poor reporter was kidnapped last year, kept for two days, beaten viciously and then dumped unconscious on the streets and abandoned. He's lucky to have survived that. Many Iraqi reporters have not. A large number of Iraqi reporters have died for even reporting on this war. They've become the targets of both Sunni Arab militants and Shi'ite militias. 144 have died as well as 45 support staff. Probably more.

http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSRYA672388

There is a lot more to this story. I hope his whole story will come out, that he'll be released and that he's not being tortured even as I type this.

[curiousdemo]

12. Let the guy go.......

He deserve a Nobel Prize not Torture.

[CheCheCheCheYerBooty]

16. Faked

I think the whole thing was staged. There is no way that dufus could have ducked that easily. Love the site by the way!

[chelsea0011]

17. He didn't move that quickly reading "My Pet Goat" during the 9-11 attacks.

[TellTheTruth82]

19. and it's a good thing

because that inspired (some) people to remain cool and calm during that crisis, not running around like a chicken with his head cut off. One of the few things Bush did right.

[AlbertCat]

23. not running around like a chicken with his head cut off.

No...Bush then flew around like a chicken....with or without its head.... for hours...days...

[liberation]

28. Huh? Are you serious?

He looked like a moron...

Plus people were focused on what was going down in NY. I don't really think anyone gave a f*ck what Bush was doing in the morning.

[Sorceress]

31. Eh, nope! Not buying it.

Watching Bush sit there for 7 minutes reading to kids did nothing but expose what an unprepared wimp he is. The country was in the middle of the biggest crisis many of us have ever seen and his choice is to sit and continue reading a children's story? Really? That was the BEST decision? Um, as head honcho, shouldn't he have calmly excused himself and then used those extra 6 minutes to, I don't know, LEAD??? All that did was make me even more fearful for what was to come with that man in charge of the country and my instincts were right to be afraid.

On the other had, while I am concerned about the torture aspect, dude needs to stay in jail. I appreciate his work but we can't have people attempting to assault U.S. Presidents and getting away with it. That is not a good message to send internationally. Furthermore, it already looks bad that he got two shoes off before, being apprehended.

[TellTheTruth82]

37. See below

for response on leadership..... because he did lead.

As far as the shoes go, I would be betting that someone already lost their job (or maybe a few people did).

[chelsea0011]

84. Leadership=Bush. Now I know you are a troll.

[unpossibles]

You have to be kidding me

Seriously?

Bush did not remain calm and cool, he remained frozen - that is not a good reaction in any way, shape or form. He could have reacted immediately and still remained calm and cool.

Welcome to DU </sarcasm>

[TellTheTruth82]

36. Who's kididng who

Frozen...while reading a children's story - contradictory (summing up a few posts here). He did lead...by remaining cool and calm. Been in many leadership positions, and that is usually an acceptable (and desired) response. What should he have done? Many people wonder state that he should have done something, but are unable to state exactly what. The first reactors were already reacting, doing their jobs. As a leader, you need to let your subordinates find out the story and then report the status.

I am no great fan of Bush - but I have been a leader. What he did is perfectly acceptable, and desirable.

[uncle ray]

42. "no great fan"

but a fan nonetheless.

[unpossibles]

48. seriously

I'm kind of shocked how someone could defend that.

[DireStrike]

46. So Andy Card whispered all the details into his ear?

No way, no how. He gave him a summary.

Honestly, how he should have acted probably depends on what Card told him, and we'll never know that. But in no way did it look good for him to remain there. I would have expected him to politely announce that something very important was happening, cut the reading short, and go get fully briefed at least. It is possible to take action (or appear to be taking action) AND remain calm, you know.

His actions were cowardly, not calm. I'm sure you don't entertain the possibility of M/Lihop so ignoring that, he must have just been sitting there with his heart in his throat. What person wouldn't want to get up and hear everything? See what was being done? What president would want to BE SEEN NOT seeing what was being done?

Only one.

[unpossibles]

49. how is frozen and reading a children's story contradictory?

A real leader would have said, "excuse me, but there's something I need to handle now" and politely gotten up (still cool and calm) and found out what the hell was going on.

He was frozen because he was still reading that story. It's not a contradiction and you are the first person I've ever seen here defend that inaction.

[StarryNite]

52. Why didn't the Secret Service

whisk bush away to safety if we were under attack? It was no secret where he was.

The Secret Service at Booker Elementary:
The Dog That Did Not Bark

The Secret Service did nothing. The dog did not bark.

If the events of 9-11 were truly a surprise to the United States Government then there is no way the Secret Service could have known there wasn't a hijacked or stolen plane heading towards Booker Elementary School that very second.

http://whatreallyhappened.com/WRHARTICLES/9-11secretservice.html

[rateyes]

57. He was a potential target...

real cool to remain a target in a room full of children. He's a damned fool, and if you think what he did displayed real leadership, then you don't know much about leading people. I wouldn't follow that kind of leadership across the damned street, because he'd get me run over by a bus.

[SpookyCat]

71. Wrong site?

I think perhaps you are lost...but just in case I'm wrong, (why is your profile hidden, btw?) let me explain.

Shrub did not sit "cool and calm"...he looked like a deer in the fucking headlights. He did not exhibit confidence or strength, as his apologists suggest.

Let me answer what he "should have done", although I do not believe for one nano second that no one has told you this before.

He should have calmly told the kids that he has to go, "grown up stuff" or however he wanted to word it to kids. Then he should have left and gotten in front of a camera as quickly as possible to address the nation, and done so without looking like he was peeing his pants as he spoke.

I loath Guilianni, but I cannot take away from him that HIS face and HIS calm demeanor is what I clung to in the first few days.

[Every Man A King]

82. Duck!

Shoe Incoming!

[pink-o]

51. We need the signage: Don't feed the Troll. n/t

[Pastiche423]

92. Here you go...

Perfect for the one trolling this and other threads.

[rateyes]

56. He was a deer caught in the headlights.

He was clueless. And, still is. Leadership, my ass.

[ooglymoogly]

74. Good lord; Who are you people and where the f is your brain.

Why regale us with your ignorance and stupidity. Thousands were dieing while this idiot read to children. Go back to freeperville where room temps are normal.

[mahina]

80. If you take a good long look at the video, in context of the warnings he had been

provided in the PDB's (Presidential Daily Briefings) immediately prior to Sept 11 that he IGNORED, you can only come to a couple of conclusions.

"Bin Ladin determined to attack the USA"

At best, Bush was a supporting actor. He was making NO decisions, he was waiting to be told what to do.

Leadership? Are you serious?

[mahina]

81. Remain cool and calm! So that we don't make any big mistakes,

like wage a war against a country that didn't do anything to us, in a way that caused hundreds of thousands of innocent lives lost, most under the age of 15?

I have a couple of real documentaries you should see. "Control Room" and "Why We Fight". You should really, really watch them. Listen to retired CIA, Pentagon officials, and military officers talk about how betrayed they feel, how completely impossible it was to do the real work under this hideously corrupt administration. There are more, but those two will get you started. When you are done, you will want this too:

[chelsea0011]

83. You are kidding, right?

[stillcool]

89. Is that what a President does...

when the country he has been selected President of is attacked? Read "My Pet Goat" as planes are flying into buildings and NORAD is playing war games? Throw a glorified hack...Karen Hughes out in front of the camera, to speak to the nation. I can't imagine any human being behaving as nonchalantly.

[Turborama]

43. Or put up in this place...?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=385x246613

K&R

[onehandle]

2. I'm sure it's up to little lord pissypants himself.

I'd be surprised if he wasn't in a crate and on his way to Gitmo.

[Luminous Animal]

3. We should demand it, too.

Most strenuously.

[Titonwan]

7. You're right

We SHOULD crate Bush up and send him to Gitmo.

[Luminous Animal]

9. No. We should demand the reporters release.

Are you really suggesting that Bush should be tortured?

[Harry Monroe]

22. Why not??

Karma is a bitch. It may be the only way for him to come to a realization of the crimes he has committed these past long 8 years. If anyone deserves to be tortured for his crimes against humanity, it's him.

[rucognizant]

4. After all.......

For 8 years while bush has made some "democratic" statement about free speech, those who wear protest T shirts to his speeches have been routinely arrested and held.

[Titonwan]

8. There's always the police horses

to run roughshod over us too. Like the Iraq Veteran's Against the War protester who had his face broken. Real brave.

[Dead Elephant]

5. The Lame Duck ducked

the symbolism behind this whole incident sums up Bush's 8 years.
He has ducked everything that has been thrown at him.
He's teflon.

Just saw Frost/Nixon last night.
The standards that Bush set in politics in todays age would make Nixon a saint.

http://www.robertisrael.etsy.com/

[jeff30997]

29. "He's teflon."

Absolutely! It's been like that all his worthless life.

For years I compared him to John Gotti,the "Teflon Don".I hope he'll end up the same way.

[Titonwan]

6. I totally agree!

The only thing I would like to do is sponsor him going to a pitcher's seminar. A fast sinking slider would've nailed him with that second attempt. Oh well, I think the U.S. Constitution should be rolled up and placed inside of a lead pipe for the next attempt. We should be doing this (metaphorically speaking, of course) to ensure no future president takes the law into his own hands. (Cheney, Rumsfeld, Rice, Addington, Rove, Gonzales and Yoo, too. I don't want to leave any of the other criminals out)

[Justpat]

25. Welcome to DU

:hi:

[truthisfreedom]

11. Release the truth-teller! Release him now!

Release the man who cares about his country! Release him!

[notesdev]

13. And somebody has to give him...

... a medal.

Now who among us doesn't wish he was the one to throw those shoes?

[TellTheTruth82]

14. not I

I tend to oppose assault.

[Harry Monroe]

21. Even one as justified as this??

[TellTheTruth82]

38. Yes

I am one of those who do not believe a crime is justified. I tend to oppose it, and I would sincerely hope everyone is opposed to crime.

[uncle ray]

41. so who would you hold responsible

for the ongoing illegal occupation of Iraq?

is that a lesser crime than throwing a shoe? would you prefer the shoeter be locked up while the person responsible for the unnecessary war which has killed thousands of our soldiers and hundreds of thousands of Iraqis goes free, and is protected against people angry their country has been stolen from them? in a just world, they would BOTH be locked up.

[RaleighNCDUer]

45. It was a fucking SHOE, dude, not a grenade,

not even a rock.

And the intent was to deliver a message, not to actually hit him. You've seen the clips. It was LOBBED at him. A paraplegic could have ducked that.

In Arab culture, the shoe is the worn on the lowest part of the body, and therefore symbolizes the lowest of the low. THAT was the intent - to demonstrate that he was beneath respect.

I say good job.

[fascisthunter]

93. puhleeze

[rateyes]

59. Not those shoes...

those shoes missed.

[riverwalker]

15. who do we contact?

I found the web page for the current Iraqi Government, but it is in Arabic. Can anyone figure out an email address?


http://www.cabinet.iq/

[Mari333]

18. and more

'This interview with Maj. Gen. Mark P. Hertling, the 1st Armored Division commander, who has been in Samarra, is refreshing for its candor even as the general rightly stresses the improvements in the security situation.

There are still 400 attacks a month in Iraq; unemployment ranges from 40% to 80%; the infrastructure of the country is completely dilapidated, with the Beiji refinery an ecological disaster; and the Shiite government shows no interest in the welfare and progress of the Sunni Arab north-- "It would be like having a central government in Bonn that didn’t care anything about what was going on in Wiesbaden or Frankfurt . . ."'

http://www.juancole.com/2008/12/shoe-thrower-had-been-traumatized-by-us.html

[Harry Monroe]

20. If he hadn't been behind a podium...

...the shoe throwing journalist could have nailed him in the balls. I would LOVE to have seen that!!!

"Ow!! My balls!!"
(The most popular program in 2505)

We are living in an "Idiocracy" now.

[AlbertCat]

24. Iraqi Democracy in action!

[Broadslidin]

26. Dear Mr. Muntadar al-Zaidi, Your "Shoes" are now worth, ' A Fortune'....

:nuke: :hide: :nuke:

[Dukkha]

27. release him so we can give him his Medal of Freedom

plus a pitcher position in MLB. He's got a good throwing arm.

[KG]

30. free the shoeter!

:P

[jeff30997]

34. Lol! The shoeter!

AKA The lone Shoeman.:)

[NBachers]

32. This guy needs to set up a Paypal account

I'd send him money.

[jeff30997]

33. He now shall be known as..

Shoeless Joe al-Zaidi! :bounce:

[BrklynLiberal]

35. Since prez shit-for-brains seemed to take it to "lightly", the man should be released.

Think what it would do for your "legacy" dimson, if you pleaded for mercy for him....

[liberalhistorian]

40. If he didn't care about innocent or even possibly innocent

prisoners being executed by the dozen in Texas, he sure ain't gonna give a shit about this man.

[rms013]

39. What did he say?

Last night while watching the news (CBS I think) they said the "shoe hurler" said something like 'here is for the widows and children of the Iraqi's you have killed'. Is that true, as I have read many accounts and it seems to have either been untrue or has been selectively edited?

[liberal1973]

44. HAHAHA

The picture of Bushco ducking is too funny.

Should have made it camel dung that way the ducking maneuver would have been irreverent.:bounce:

[mlevans]

47. People do realize, don't they

that the point was not to physically injure the poisonous little toad, but to insult him, right? From that perspective, it doesn't matter whether the shoes hit pay dirt or not; the intent was accomplished. Had W been actually struck by one of those pedestrian missiles, that would have just been gravy.

Also, I think it is perfectly consistent that he should have sat immobile and indecisive in the instance of September 11, yet ducked so nimbly to avoid the shoes. After all, this was a case he could easily interpret as an immediate threat to him personally, rather than (in his mind) some more vague threat to the country as a whole.

[ecalmosthuman]

50. This man attacked the President.

Insult or not, it was a physical attack on the President. This is an incredibly childish, tasteless and inappropriate way to express your dissatisfaction, regardless of what Bush ultimately deserves. Take your blinders off for one moment and imagine how outraged we would all be if a foreign reporter launched such a physical "insult" on our newly beloved Pres-elect, regardless of motive. Of course he does not deserve to be tortured, but there should definitely be consequences when someone decides that physical assault is the best way to show disdain for a political figure.

[Oak2004]

53. Lt. gov. Dubie, is that you?

I always wonder when new people come out of the woodwork to defend Bush, Inc.

[Billy Shears]

55. take your blinders off and realize that W deserves much worse than a shoe to the face

He is a War Criminal.

He deserves the same treatment they doled out at Nuremburg.

[Karenina]

58. Tell it to the Italians and Romanians.

:rofl:

[rateyes]

60. And, with his orders, the pResident tortured that man. nt

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

61. I say give him a medal.

I guess he doesn't technically qualify for a Medal of Honor.

Give him one anyway.

[mlevans]

63. The likelihood that any foreign reporter would pay such attentions to Obama

are just about nil. I've got no blinders, friend, nor am I overly given to self deception. Further, I was raised a pacifist, and don't typically subscribe to violent solutions. However, in this particular instance, my only regret is that the gentleman missed.

[northofdenali]

91. Woooooooohooooooooo!!!

You flatly rung my bell with that answer, mlevans - PERFECT. :thumbsup:

[noiretextatique]

68. it was meant to be an insult

because bush has insulted (also killed, maimed, and tortured) the people of iraq...and people all over the world who oppose the war.
if obama does anything like what bush did, i hope he gets a million shoes tossed at him.

[Gen. Jack D. Ripper]

70. The difference is, Barack Obama hasn't done anything to deserve this kind of insult

Bush has. Bush is an insult. He's an insult to the entire world. He's below contempt and he has no business holding the office of president. The fact that he has been allowed to stay in the White house this long is an insult as well. He isn't deserving of the respect usually reserved for the office. Remember, a man must earn respect, he is not given it simply by the title he holds or the suite he wears, which is yet another major difference between Bush and Obama. Bush is not just a "politician" either, he's a criminal and scoundrel and anyone who defends him, for any reason, can go straight to hell.

[EFerrari]

77. When Obama bombs an innocent nation, kills a million people and displaces

millions more, I'll throw MY SHOES at him.

[stillcool]

90. bullshit...

he had shoes thrown at him. Crazy eh? An Iraqi, in Iraq, expressing disgust in a customary gesture of contempt in his country. The 'guest' in his country is responsible for over a million Iraqi deaths..and the ruination of a country. I can't believe that any American would think that this man should be punished in any way, shape, or form. He has suffered more than any of us could possibly imagine..and at our hands.

[Pastiche423]

95. What president?

There hasn't been a president duly elected in this counmtry since prior to December 12, 2000.

[Stuart G]

54. This has started, and will not stop till Jan 20...nt

[lumberjack_jeff]

62. I cheer for the guy a little, but he committed a crime.

He needs his day in an Iraqi courtroom. Soon.

[mlevans]

64. A jury of his peers would likely exonerate him.

[lumberjack_jeff]

67. That would be fine by me. The jury and the judge need to do their job. n/t

[stillcool]

66. throwing a shoe is a crime..

and yet the person getting the shoe thrown at him is responsible for over a million Iraqi deaths. There's some American style justice for you.

[noiretextatique]

69. you said it all

a truly sickening reality isn't it? bush is responsible for the needless deaths of iraqis and americans, but our leaders have told us that he won't pay for his crimes. yet this poor man who was kidnapped and tortured because of bush's illegal war...this man has to "pay for his crime" of tossing his shoes at :puke:

[stillcool]

72. I wonder how much time...

these shoe-throwers got?

Dec 06, 2005
Iraq Parliamentary Elections: Allawi Gets The Boot

If you recall, Najaf is the home base of Moktada al-Sadr, now a coalition partner in the main Shi'ite electoral slate, the United Iraqi Alliance. Also, Najaf was the scene of a military standoff in August 2004 between U.S. troops and al-Sadr's militia. As the Prime Minister at the time, Allawi, a secular Shi'ite (and ex-C.I.A. operative) stood solidly behind the U.S. effort.


It may have been because he interrupted a funeral. (In the third shot from the top, you can see a casket being led out the entrance with Allawi's contingent just beyond.) The yellow circles in the next two shots are not thought bubbles. They are evidentiary circles drawn to point out how Allawi and company were run off in a hail of shoes.

I guess Allawi's Ba'athist past doesn't make him the most popular guy in more religious Shi'ite strongholds. Many cultures have unique rituals of social denunciation. In Iraq, as I'm told, the throwing of shoes is the single worst insult that a person can make.
http://bagnewsnotes.typepad.com/bagnews/2005/12/iraq_parliament.html

[lumberjack_jeff]

76. Why are they mutually exclusive? Bush needs his day in court too. n/t

[stillcool]

79. Maybe because it's an Iraqi...

displaying the Iraqi custom of insult in Iraq? Although I suppose if it were a tomato American's would still be 'outraged'.

Dec 06, 2005
Iraq Parliamentary Elections: Allawi Gets The Boot

If you recall, Najaf is the home base of Moktada al-Sadr, now a coalition partner in the main Shi'ite electoral slate, the United Iraqi Alliance. Also, Najaf was the scene of a military standoff in August 2004 between U.S. troops and al-Sadr's militia. As the Prime Minister at the time, Allawi, a secular Shi'ite (and ex-C.I.A. operative) stood solidly behind the U.S. effort.


It may have been because he interrupted a funeral. (In the third shot from the top, you can see a casket being led out the entrance with Allawi's contingent just beyond.) The yellow circles in the next two shots are not thought bubbles. They are evidentiary circles drawn to point out how Allawi and company were run off in a hail of shoes.

I guess Allawi's Ba'athist past doesn't make him the most popular guy in more religious Shi'ite strongholds. Many cultures have unique rituals of social denunciation. In Iraq, as I'm told, the throwing of shoes is the single worst insult that a person can make.
http://bagnewsnotes.typepad.com/bagnews/2005/12/iraq_parliament.html

[EFerrari]

78. There are demonstrations in support of this man in the streets right now

and people are throwing their shoes at American military vehicles.

[lumberjack_jeff]

85. All the more reason for the justice system to work quickly.

The sooner he is mildly chastised and released, the better. He should not become an imprisoned martyr.

I think DU'ers need to try being a little more objective about this. What should happen to a frustrated freeper who throws shoes at Obama from about 12' away?

[EFerrari]

86. They already beat the shit out of him.

And, the Iraqi public already seem to be vastly on his side.

I don't really have a solution or even, much of an opinion except to notice that this is what happens when you fuck with people so badly that they don't care what happens to them. We're lucky he didn't have bomb strapped to himself instead of just shoes.

[lumberjack_jeff]

87. Beating the shit out of him was the worst possible outcome. n/t

[EFerrari]

88. Yep. Agreed. n/t

[The Stranger]

65. FREE AL ZAIDI NOW!

[Wizard777]

73. If they have to call it a crime. Then they have to call it a crime of passion.

If Hitler had given a farewell address to the Jews. I seriously doubt they would have been as restrained and well behaved as this gentleman was.

[ooglymoogly]

75. I hope the world causes a big stink about this world class patriot

being held for doing something everyone else should have had the courage to do a long time ago.

[fascisthunter]

94. he's a hero

how ya like that freeper

[pacalo]

96. Wish you had included this paragraph...

"Al-Baghdadia television demands that the Iraqi authorities immediately release their stringer Muntadhar al-Zaidi, in line with the democracy and freedom of expression that the American authorities promised the Iraqi people," it said in a statement.