Iraq Rally To Save Bush shoe attacker Muntadar al-Zaidi

World eyes were fixed on last week's looped video of an Iraqi journalist Muntazar alZaidi throwing his two shoes at President George W. Bush during a press conference in iraq. "This is a farewell kiss, you dog. This is from the widows, the orphans and those who were killed in Iraq." yelled AlZaidi while throwing his shoes at Uncle Sam.
The whole of the Muslim world erupted in glee at the shoe attack on George W. Bush. Far from a joke, many in the Middle east saw the act by an Iraqi journalist as heroic, expressing the deep, personal contempt many feel for the American leader, they blame for years of bloodshed, chaos and the suffering of civilians. The sight of an average Arab standing up and making a public show of resentment was stunning. The pride, joy and bitterness it uncorked showed how, many Arabs place their anger on Bush personally for what they see as a litany of crimes - chief among them the turmoil in Iraq and tens of thousands of Iraqi deaths since the 2003 U.S. invasion.
"The heroic effort of alZaidi sent the message loud and clear to Bush: that he's loathed for his wrongdoing, for killing Muslims in Iraq, Afghanistan and Palestine,"By willingly risking prison and death just to throw those shoes, he reminded the powerful and powerless alike that a single symbolic gesture can be more effective than a thousand grenades.
The Iraq war is the most prominent cause of Arab resentment of Bush. Even many who were outraged at Shiite and Sunni militant groups for the killings of civilians and sectarian strife that tore the country apart ultimately blamed Bush for unleashing the chaos. Some accuse his administration of fueling Shiite-Sunni tensions across the region. But more broadly, nearly every U.S. policy in the region became seen as part of a campaign to divide or subjugate Muslim nations, from Iran and Syria to Sudan and Somalia. His administration's war on terror was seen as a war on Muslims and Arabs in general, an image fueled by civilian deaths in Afghanistan and, in particular, the abuse of prisoners at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo bay. Bush was seen as heavily favoring Israel over the Palestinians. His administration's campaign to isolate the Palestinian militant group Hamas translated to the Arab public as an attempt to starve Palestinians in Hamas-ruled Gaza.
Shoes hold a special place in the Arab lexicon of insults as a show of contempt -- effectively saying, you're lower than the dirt on my shoes. Even sitting with the sole of a shoe pointed at another person is seen as disrespectful. Iraqis had bashed the statue of Saddam with their shoes after US marines toppled it to the ground following the 2003 invasion of their country.
AlZaidi attained instant hero status around the Arab world. People from around the world have rejoiced in the glory of a frogmarched Iraqi reporter and vowed to make him rich and eternally famous. What made al-Zaidi's defiance particularly resonant for many was their anger at autocratic Arab leaders whom they have considered slavish followers of Bush's policies in the Middle East.

The al-Baghdadia television network, which employs Zaidi, broadcast his photo and martial anthems. Arab satellite TV channels and Web sites repeatedly played the scene of Bush ducking as the shoes flew past.
In Libya, a charity led by Moammar Gaddafi's daughter Aisha announced it would give Zaidi an award for bravery and urged the Iraqi government to free him."What he did represents a victory for human rights across the world," said the organization, Wa Attassimou.
"The flying shoe speaks more for Arab public opinion than all the despots/puppets that Bush meets with during his travels in the Middle East," Asad Abu Khalil, a Lebanese American college professor, wrote in his blog, the Angry Arab News Service (http://angryarab.blogspot.com).
A Saudi businessman offered to buy either of the shoes thrown at Bush for $10 million, Saudi television reported.
In Cairo, Egyptians in the middle-cl neighborhood of Bulak laughed as they recounted Zaidi throwing his shoes at Bush.
"It was especially gratifying that it happened toward the end of his presidency, because this is how he will be forever remembered," Nermine Gabaly, a 32-year-old homemaker, said with a smile. "The Iraqi reporter should not be penalized for doing this," she added. "He just expressed his emotions as an Iraqi citizen."
On the air, Zaidi referred to the U.S. militarypresence as "the occupation" and was known to call Bush "the devil."
Saif al-Deen al-Kaisi, an editor at al-Baghdadia, recalled a conversation a year and half ago in which Zaidi said, "I hope to meet Bush and hit him with my shoes."
Zaidi opposed a recently signed U.S.-Iraq security agreement that will extend the presence of U.S. troops for at least three years. "Any honest Iraqi patriot will reject the agreement,"
"Muntazar has not joined any party or movement," Maithan said. "Nobody paid him to do this. His love for Iraq made him do this."
In the southern city of Najaf, several hundred followers of Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr took to the streets Monday, describing Zaidi as a religious warrior. They threw shoes at U.S. military Humvees but the Americans did not respond, witnesses said.
In Sadr's Baghdad stronghold of Sadr City, protesters burned American flags and chanted, "Bush, Bush listen well: We pushed you out with two shoes."
Zaidi's brothers said they had received scores of offers from lawyers to represent him. Iraqi politicians have also expressed their support, but Durgham said he was worried about his brother. "If in front of TV cameras, they are beating him, can you imagine what they are doing to him behind the cameras?"
At one Baghdad elementary school, a geography teacher asked her students if they had seen the footage of the shoe-throwing, then told them, "All Iraqis should be proud of this Iraqi brave man, Muntazar. History will remember him forever."
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez hailed the Iraqi reporter as a role model for courageousness. "It's a good thing it didn't hit him. I'm not encouraging throwing shoes at anybody, but really, what a courage," he said.
"I am not surprised. Whole word hates him." said the CPM general secretary Prakash Karat. Himself an ardent Bush baiter, Mr Karat was unfazed and felt that Bush deserved that. "I am not for once surprised. What he had done is well known and hence the entire world hates him" he added.
Abdel-Sattar Qassem, a Palestinian political science professor at the West Bank's An Najah University, wrote in an online commentary that "Bush wanted to end his bloody term hearing compliments and welcoming words from his collaborators in the Arab and Islamic world. But a shoe from a real Arab man summed up Bush's black history and told the entire world that the Arabs hold their head high."
Players can now hurl their shoes in a video game designed to bring back memories of the Iraqi farewell to Bush. Internet surfers got a kick out of making Flash-based games. In one of the games, players ume the role of Bush to earn points by dodging the shoes flying toward him. Another game scores player on how many shoes hit the animated Bush.
The intense personal resentment of Bush may give Obama an automatic advantage in his attempts to repair the U.S. image. Obama's race and his family ties to Islam have raised hope among some Arabs that he'll be more sympathetic to their views. Obama's aides have spoken of his delivering a major address in a Muslim capital early in his administration to set a new tone. But many in the Middle east say it will take more than symbolic gestures. The president-elect's promises to withdraw from Iraq and close Guantanamo have also raised Arab hopes. Another top demand is for a more balanced U.S. stance in the Arab-Israeli peace process.

But on Monday, Arabs were just glowing with pride over the farewell to Bush. "I've watched the video over a dozen times on You Tube and was excited every time I see him (alZaidi) standing up and calling Bush a dog," said Tamer Ismail, 23-year-old art student in Cairo. "But I felt so bitter when he missed."
by ashfaq zehgeer

this made my weekend