Has the Message Hit Home, Bush?

During his last visit to Iraq, the outgoing American president, George W.Bush, was rewarded for invading the Arab country in a way that was meant to convey the utmost disgrace to its target.

Bush shook hands with the Iraqi prime minister, Nuri al-Maliki, at a joint press conference held at al-Maliki’s headquarters. Those attending the press conference were surprised as a reporter from the Al Baghdadiya T.V. station, the Iraqi journalist Muntadhar al-Zaidi, threw his shoes at Bush and cried, ”And this is a farewell kiss, you dog!”

Bush, who managed to dodge the pair of shoes that hit the wall behind him, tried to minimize the insult by joking, “If you want the facts, it was a size 10 shoe he threw at me.” He later added that he “didn’t feel the least bit threatened by it.”

Meanwhile, al-Maliki, who had put out his hand to help shield Bush from the shoes, was greatly disturbed as Iraqi security forces and American Secret Service members forced a screaming al-Zaidi from the room.

Al-Zaidi had been kidnapped for a week in November 2007, and arrested twice by U.S. forces. He opposes the American invasion, along with many of his colleagues at Al Baghdadiya T.V. By throwing his shoes he meant to send a clear message that the Iraqi people will not forgive Bush’s crimes, nor accept the occupation.

This message certainly refutes Bush’s claim that the Iraqis welcomed U.S. troops with open arms, which he made in order to justify the invasion. Most importantly, al-Zaidi’s behavior indicates that the security pact signed with al-Maliki has not been accepted by the Iraqi people.

Bush unexpectedly visited Baghdad on December 14th. The president’s plane landed at Baghdad’s international airport, then a helicopter took him to the Green Zone, where he was received by the Iraqi president, Jalal Talabani, then by Nuri Al Maliki, the prime minister.

This visit, according to sources in the White House, was to celebrate the security agreement that governs the American presence in Iraq for the next three years, after the U.N. mandate ends in December 2008. The response to that agreement came in the form of al-Zaidi’s shoes, assuring Bush that he will pay the price for the crimes he committed against the helpless Iraqi people.

Bush also counted on this agreement to improve his image in the eyes of his own people, something it failed to do. The American magazine, Time, described him as the weakest and most inefficient president America has ever witnessed. It states that while Bush is leaving the White House, his administration’s record, marked with failure, remains. The magazine article referred to his feeble economic performance, unforgettable slips in Iraq and Afghanistan, and his so-called “War on Terror” as proof of Bush as a weak and inefficient president.