According to CNN:
Pres Bush was on an unannounced visit to the Green Zone to celebrate the conclusion of the security pact, called the Strategic Framework Agreement and the Status of Forces Agreement.
The pact will replace a U.N. mandate for the U.S. presence in Iraq that expires at the end of this year. The agreement, reached after months of negotiations, sets June 30, 2009, as the deadline for U.S. combat troops to withdraw from all Iraqi cities and towns. The date for all U.S. troops to leave Iraq is December 31, 2011.
The Iraqi man, identified as Muntadar al-Zeidi, a correspondent for Al-Baghdadia television, an Iraqi- owned station based in Cairo, Egypt got up and whipped one shoe and then the other, screaming:
This is a gift from the Iraqis, this is a farewell kiss, you dog! This is from the widows, the orphans and those who were killed in Iraq.
It was not a lob toss or simply a statement - it was meant to injure. Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, who knew what the man meant with the shoes, wasn't exactly helpful. Throwing shoes (or even pointing the soles) at someone is a Muslim insult. Honestly. What isn't? Those ever-present men in the streets must be cheering. And the Arab women who gave birth to and/or are pregnant by them?
video courtesy of b6ran2222
Have to say Bush handled it very well. He didn't hide behind the podium after the first shoe. I can't see barry handling something like that. The hope is, of course, that he won't have to. And I don't foresee him making many trips to any combat zones - surprise or otherwise. Something similar to his world tour, yes.
Bush talking over the car horn moans of the shoe thrower in the next room.
BUSH: Everybody calm down. First of all [muffled - uuaw], thank you [WAH!] for apologizing on behalf [WAH!] of the Iraqi people. [WAH!] It doesn't bother me. [WAH!] And [WAH!] if you want some [WAH!] - if you want the facts: [silence] it was a size 10 show he threw at me.
The reporters then asked him about the incident.
BUSH: So what if the guy threw his shoe at me? Let me talk about the guy throwing his shoe. It's one way to gain attention. It's like going to a political rally and having people yell at you. It's like driving down the street and having people not gesturing with all five fingers.
I don't know what the guy's cause is. But one thing is for certain. He caused you to ask me a question about it. I didn't feel the least bit threatened by it.
Where was the Secret Service? Nobody even got to him before the second one had landed. The irony of it all. Security pact celebration with a real, potentially lethal attack on the POTUS.
And what's the next big video on CNN? barry buying a Christmas tree. Says it all.
***
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Shoe thrower sentenced to 3 years
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Shoe thrower's sentenced reduced from 3 to 1 year
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