I'd Like to Throw My Shoes at George W. Bush, Too

Over the last few days I haven't been able to stop thinking about the Iraqi reporter who threw both of his shoes at George W. Bush during a recent Iraqi press conference. After contemplating the "legacy" of the younger President Bush, I applaud the Iraqi reporter's actions. Come to think of it, given the chance, I might throw my shoes at President Bush as well. More than most pawns of the Establishment, he has been an unmitigated disaster for America.

Shoe throwing in the Arab world is a supreme insult. You may have

Like his father, George Jr. experienced a meteoric rise to fame coincident to his presidence over the destruction of Iraq. Also, like his father, George II left office amid plummeting popularity, once the American populace had come to understand his true character.

read that this very disgrace happened to President Bush on his "farewell tour" to Iraq on December 14, 2008. At the beginning of a joint press conference with Iraqi President Nouri al Maliki, Bush was accosted with both the left and right shoes of an angry reporter. The reporter was immediately thereafter subdued. Bush's hope for his surprise visit to Iraq--to show how far freedom in Iraq had progressed--was both illustrated and made a mockery of in the shoe-throwing incident.



Muntadhar al Zeidi will stand trial on December 31st for "assaulting a foreign head of state". If convicted he could serve at least seven years in prison. He wrote a letter to President Bush apologizing and asking for a pardon, but strong evidence corroborates his claim that he was compelled through torture to write the letter. While some members of the Iraqi press have opined that there are many more productive ways to have embarrassed Bush, thousands of fellow Iraqis are demanding al Zeidi's release from prison. Emotions ran high

I think what Muntadhar did to Bush was the least of what he deserved and this attack represents the freedom that he bragged about giving to us,” said Abu Mohamed, a 36-year-old taxi driver.

In a re-enactment of the incident, Iranian Basij students threw their shoes at a person symbolizing President Bush.

So far, two men have proposed giving their daughters' hand in marriage to al Zeidi.

. . .

I remember about 9 years ago being highly dismayed at how many of

While some members of the Iraqi press have opined that there are many more productive ways to have embarrassed Bush, thousands of fellow Iraqis are demanding al Zeidi's release from prison.

my Republican friends were excited to jump on the George W Bush for President bandwagon. His father was an Establishment dope, having been one of Ronald Reagan's fiercest critics, and then, somehow, having become Reagan's vice president. George HW Bush first gave Saddam Hussein the green light to attack Kuwait, and then intervened to push the Iraqi military back into Iraq. Bush Sr. strongly encouraged support for Shia uprisings against the Hussein government, yet stood by when the Shia uprisers were slaughtered.

The fruitcake doesn't fall far from the tree. It wasn't long into George W Bush's first term (and probably before the occurrence of 9/11) that W was contemplating cleaning up after his father in Iraq, who, he felt, hadn't gone far enough. After all, Saddam was still in power.

For a day or two after September 11, 2001, I was among those who joined in reverence for a somber president who led a humble country. It wasn't long before I noticed that it was all a charade, and that Bush's faux spirituality was a brazen attempt to strengthen United States domination in the Middle East.

Contrived tales of mobile chemical weapons labs, other weapons of mass destruction, and conspiracy between Saddam and al Qaeda became standard fare on the political talk circuit. Attention to Afghanistan, the real harbor for al Qaeda, was soon deflected to George Jr.'s pet project.

After a three-week campaign, the United States military occupied Baghdad. Iraqis and Iranians alike, who fought each other to an eight-year stalemate, were in awe of the American military juggernaut. At this point, using back channels, the Iranian

George W. Bush surrounded himself with yes-men and women who made weak attempts to justify invigorated American imperialism and culturally condescending torture. His "nursing" of the economy by fiat bailout has made him seem every bit the aspiring King like the George before him from whom patriotic Americans unceremoniously dissociated themselves in 1776.

government sought a rapprochement of sorts with the United States. George W. Bush--confident of his country's fresh victory, his new-found personal prominence, and the prospects of a successful military foray into Iran--ignored the offer.

Like his father, George Jr. experienced a meteoric rise to fame coincident to his presidence over the destruction of Iraq. Also, like his father, George II left office amid plummeting popularity, once the American populace had come to understand his true character. Unfortunately, the one major difference between their presidencies was that someone didn't come along and dethrone George Jr. after his first term.

George W. Bush has touched essentially nothing during his administration that has not ultimately turned to lead. In addition to his ongoing fiasco in the Arab and Persian Middle East, his nonchalance regarding the Kyoto protocol has given conservatives a black eye regarding environmental stewardship. His straddling of the fence on embryonic stem cell research has earned him enemies on the left and the right. He surrounded himself with yes-men and women who made weak attempts to justify invigorated American imperialism and culturally condescending torture. His "nursing" of the economy by fiat bailout has made him seem every bit the aspiring King like the George before him from whom patriotic Americans unceremoniously dissociated themselves in 1776.

Muntadhar al Zeidi had good reason to throw his shoes at George W. Bush. Given the chance, I might want throw my shoes at George W. Bush, too.