Iraqis Protest for Release of Bush Shoe Attacker

An Iraqi government official said on Tuesday the journalist who threw his shoes at US President George W. Bush has been handed over to the Iraqi military command in Baghdad.

A wave of support streamed in on Monday for the now famous "shoe thrower", Iraqi journalist Muntadar Al Zaidi who heaved both his shoes on Sunday at US President George W. Bush.

"I received a wave of support from human rights groups and journalist associations, such as Reporters Without Borders," Dr Abdul Hussain Sha'aban, managing director of Al Baghdadiya, told Gulf News.

His family told the AP that over time, he came to hate both the US military occupation and what he views as Iran's "moral" occupation too.

The Iraqi Journalists' Syndicate said Al Zaidi's "far from professional" and irresponsible conduct had placed it in an "embarrassing and critical" situation. Nevertheless, it called on Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki to release him for humanitarian reasons.

"It was the throw of the century. I believe Bush deserves what happened to him because he has not kept his promises to Iraqis," said Baghdad resident Abu Hussain, 48.

He would be tried on charges of insulting the Iraqi state, said the prime minister's media adviser, Yasin Majeed.

Arabs across the Middle East hailed the journalist as a hero and praised his insult as a proper send-off to the unpopular US president.

Also, Arab bloggers had a field day after the "shoe heard around the world" incident.

"Today is the day that 'Angry Arab' has been preparing itself for 3 years and finally it happened" remarked one blog.

It went on to joke, "please, please one shoe at a time"

Damascus was abuzz with the news; almost as if the entire city was watching a football match, and hurt that their favorite team, had missed a goal, a Gulf News correspondent reported.

"Al Zaidi did what Arab leaders failed to do," said Ghazi Abu Baker, a 55-year-old shopkeeper in the West Bank town of Jenin. "This journalist should be elected president of Iraq for what he has done."

On a more serious note, colleagues of the Iraqi journalist said they are worried about him as they have yet to hear news about him.

"They confiscated his mobile, I tried calling him but no answer. No one knows where he is now," Dr. Abdul Hussain Shaaban, managing director of Al Baghdadiya Satellite TV, told Gulf News.

Shaaban, who is also a human rights activists, said he was approached by several Arab laywers wanting to defend Al Zaidi and many journalist associations, like Reporters Without Borders have expressed concern.

Saddam Hussain's former lawyer, Khalil Al Dulaimi, said on Monday that he was forming a team to defend Al Zaidi.

"It was the least thing for an Iraqi to do to Bush, the tyrant criminal who has killed two million people in Iraq and Afghanistan," said Dulaimi. "Zaidi should be released immediately."

"This is a gift from the Iraqis, this is the farewell kiss, you dog!" Al Zaidi shouted just before he chucked his shoes at the US president during the live broadcast of the press conference.

"This is from the widows, the orphans and those who were killed in Iraq!" Al Zaidi shouted as he hurled his other shoe.

Al Maliki's security crowded in on him, beating him relentlessly. Mohammed Taher, reporter from Afaq, a TV station close to the ruling government of Al Maliki, described Al Zaidi "crying like a girl."

"All I can report is that it is a size 10," Bush joked, as other Iraqi journalists reportedly rushed to apologise for Al Zaidi's actions.

Al Zaidi's act was not spontaneous but planned, according to colleagues.

"Al Zaidi was kidnapped last year by an unknown militia and until now no one knows who was responsible. He was not only protesting from a general anti-US point of view, but a personal one," Al Shaaban said.

Al Shaaban declined to comment whether he supported Al Zaidi's actions. He simply emphasised that it symbolized the "catastrophe of the American government".

Al Shaaban said Al Zaidi has demonstrated what people around the world have been feeling for years about the Bush administration.

"Using shoes is just the Iraqi way," he joked.

Keywords : George W. Bush shoe attack;Zaidi attack on Bush;Shoe attack incident;Bush and the shoe;international day for shoes.

Sources : www.iraqupdates.com

Iraq Parliament clashes over fate of man who threw shoes at Bush

BAGHDAD: A session of the Iraqi Parliament erupted in an uproar on Wednesday as lawmakers clashed over how to respond to the continuing detention of an Iraqi television reporter who threw his shoes at President George W. Bush during a Baghdad news conference earlier this week, people attending the parliamentary meeting said.

As Parliament began to discuss legislation on the withdrawal from Iraq of armed forces from nations other than the United States, After Muntader al-Zaidi'shoes, narrowly missed Bush's head at the news conference on Sunday, Zaidi was subdued by a fellow journalist and then beaten by members of the prime minister's security detail.

The legislative session became so tumultuous that it prompted the speaker of Parliament, Mahmoud al-Mashhadani, to announce his resignation, according to The Associated Press. A spokesman for Mashhadani, Jabar al-Mashhadani, refused to confirm whether the speaker had tendered his resignation, although he would not deny it. Some in Parliament say the government should release Zaidi immediately, while others say the judiciary should decide his fate.

How badly injured Zaidi was by members of Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki's security detail is not clear. He has not appeared in public since his arrest, and his family members and his legal representatives say they have not been permitted to visit him. On Wednesday, Zaidi was scheduled to appear before a judge, but it was unclear whether that happened.

Dhiya al-Saadi, one of Zaidi's lawyers, said Wednesday that he was not sure whether Zaidi had appeared before a judge. As part of the Iraqi legal system, a judge typically determines whether bringing formal charges against a suspect is warranted, criminal lawyers in Iraq said. Zaidi faces up to seven years in prison if he is charged with and convicted of offending the head of a foreign state.

By : Timothy Williams and Atheer Kakan

Shoes Fly at Bush

During a visit to Iraq the president dodges a pair of flying shoes.

Recently, President George W. Bush gets a shoe thrown by journalist at him while he was in a surprise conference in Iraq. Of course, I didn’t believe it when I heard so I had to see the video of a reporter throwing a shoe at Bush. Tell me it’s not funny?

All we can see Bush has some good reflexes. That is mean, damn, he actually managed to dodge two shoes thrown at him before his security team beat that guy to a pope.

Of course, the witty Bush came back with a funny response to the shoe attack. He states, “I’m okay… all I can report is it is a size 10.”