Misery Index

Meanwhile, the National Media Center, an arm of the Iraqi government that deals with the news media, condemned al-Zaidi’s behavior as barbaric and harmful to “Iraqi journalists and journalism in general,” demanding an apology from his employer.

One journalist disagrees with the National Media center saying “It’s the talk of the city.”  Ibrahim Mousawi, a Beruit journalist and political analyst affiliated with Hezbollah added, “Everyone is proud of this man, and they’re saying he did it in our name.”

Baghdadiya TV hasn’t apologized and is demanding for al-Zaidi’s release “in line with the democracy and freedom of expression that the American authorities promised the Iraqi people … any measures taken against Muntazer will be considered the acts of a dictatorial regime.”  The network posted an image of Zaidi in the corner of the screen for much of the day.  Viewers were invited to phone in their opinions, and the vast majority said they approved of his actions.  Muzhir al-Khafaji, the programming director for the TV channel said that Zaidi “has no ties with the former regime.  His family was arrested under Saddam’s regime.  We fear for his safety.”

A geography teacher at Baghdad elementary school asked her students if they had seen the footage of the shoe-throwing.  “All Iraqis should be proud of this Iraqi brave man, Muntadhar.  History will remember him forever,” she said.

Today, Zaidi’s three brothers and one sister said they were bewildered but proud of their brother’s defiance towards President Bush as they gathered in al-Zaidi’s one-bedroom apartment in west Baghdad.  The home was decorated with a poster of Latin American revolutionary leader Che Guevara. 

“I swear to Allah, he is a hero,” his sister Um Sa’aad, who goes by the nickname Umm Firas, told the AP while watching a replay of her brother throwing his shoes.  “May Allah protect him.”   Zaidi’s sister can be seen below.

Al-Zaidi’s brother, Dhirgham said, “He hates the American physical occupation as much as he hates the Iranian moral occupation.” “He considers the regime [in Iran] to be the other side of the American coin.”  Zaidi is known to sign off his televised reports from “occupied Baghdad.”

Another of Zaidi’s brothers said “Thanks be to God, Muntazer’s act fills Iraqi hearts with pride.” Udai al-Zaidi added, “I’m sure many Iraqis want to do what Muntazer did.”

Colleagues of Zaidi told Agence France-Presse that he “detested America” and had been plotting such attack for months.  Zaidi’s family contested this statement saying his actions were spontaneous. 

A day after the shoe throwing incident, Zaidi is still being detained by the Iraqi Government.   Officials in Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s office refused to comment on his condition or on whether he’s be criminally charged.  Iraqi officials said he faces up to seven years in prison – some account said two years – for committing an act of aggression against a visiting head of state.  Zaidi’s  family said they had not heard from Zaidi since his arrest and that a police officer who picked up Zaidi’s cell phone at midnight Sunday had threatened the family.

Saddam Hussein’s former lawyer today said he was forming a team to defend al-Zaidi.  “So far, around 200 Iraqi and other lawyers, including Americans, have expressed willingness to defend the journalist for free,” the Amman-based Khalil al-Dulaimi said.  “Our defense will be based on the fact that the US is occupying Iraq, and resistance is legitimate by all means, including shoes,” Dulaimi added.

A Libyan charity group, Wa Attassimou, chaired by leader Muammar Gaddafi’s daughter, has given him a bravery award.  “Waatassimou group has taken the decision to give Muntazer al-Zaidi the courage award … because what he did represents a victory for human rights across the world,” the group said.

RANT

One thing to remember in all of this, no matter where you stand on the war in Iraq, Zaidi could not have thrown his shoes at Bush, much less survived doing this silly act, without the freedom of democracy.  And what many people also need to remember, is that if any one of us here in the United States threw a shoe at a head of state, we’d end up on criminal charges too.  So Zaidi’s employer needs to realize this.  It’s called, you commit a crime, you go to trial and if found guilty or plead guilty, possibly jail.

But things to ponder in all of this.  If the US are really wanted there to help, then why do the people of Iran want us out, and are holding such major demonstrations about the “good” side of the shoe throwing?  Do these pictures represent a country or citizens that is thankful for what we, the United States, have supposedly done for them? 

I mean, would you believe that a Saudi citizen has offered $10 million to buy Zaidi’s shoes?

Exactly how much has the media “manipulated” or “censored” what we here in the United States see or exactly what we see?  Because it seems to me the opinion of the Iraqi government and what the opinion of the Iraqi people is are at completely different extremes.  Or are all these protestors terrorists?  Have we, or will we really “win the war”?  Should we leave, and let terrorism take over again?  Or should we leave and let the people overthrow the government?  The thing to also remember in all of this is that the Middle East has been in a war with itself, neighboring nations, under the guise of a religious war since the beginning of time.  Can we, the U.S., Bush or Obama really stop that?  Or should we focus on homeland security and immigration and let the rest of the world fight their own battles that don’t involve us?

BTW, didn’t this war on “terrorism” start with hunting down Osama?  Have we really “won the war” on terrorism?

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS

Abdel-Bari Atwan, editor of the London-based newspaper Al-Quds Al-Arabi, wrote on the newspaper’s website that the incident was “a proper goodbye for a war criminal.”

“This journalist should be elected president of Iraq for what he has done,” Ghazi Abu Baker, a shopkeeper in the West Bank.

“The shoes should be exhibited in a museum as they resemble a rocket that talks on behalf of all Iraqis.” – Zahraa, posting on website of Arabian Business magazine.

“The flying shoe speaks more for Arab public opinion than all the despots/puppets Bush meets during his travels in the Middle East.” – Asad Abu Khalil, professor at Stanislaus University in California.

“Throwing shoes at Bush was the best goodbye kiss ever.  It expresses how Iraqis … hate Bush.” – Musa Barhoumeh, editor of Jordan’s independent Al-Gahd newspaper.

Bush “got what he deserves,” Jordanian businessman, Raed Mansi, in Amman.  “I hope he got the message loud and clear:  that he’s loathed for his wrongdoing, for killing Muslim women and children in Iraq, Afghanistan and Palestine.”

“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.” – Abdel-Sattar Qassem, Palestinian political science professor at the West Bank’s An Najah University.

“I’ve watched the video over a dozen times on YouTube and was excited every time I see him standing up and calling Bush a dog.  But I felt so bitter when he missed.” – Tamer Ismail, art student in Cairo.

“This wonderful shoe has gone down in history.  It’s the most important and boldest shoe in the world.  I wish I were a shoe.” – a comment left on a Jordanian news website.

SOURCES:

• “Iraqi journalist who threw shoes at George W. Bush hates US, fears Iran”, Herald Sun, 16DEC08
• “The Sole of Liberation”, Wall Street Journal, 16DEC08
• “Many hail journalist who threw shoes at Bush”, CTV, 15DEC08
• “Family:  Shoe thrower hates both US, Iran role”, AP, 15DEC08
• “Bush shoe incident catches Secret Service flatfooted”, Miami Herald, 15DEC08
• “Shoe-hurling Iraqi becomes a hero to many”, The Mercury News, 15DEC08
• “’Shoe-thrower of Baghdad’ brings Iraqis on to the streets”, The Independent, 16DEC08
• “Across Mideast, Arabs hail shoe-hurling journalist”, AP, 15DEC08
• “Protests over imprisonment of Iraqi who threw his shoes at George Bush”, The Times, 16DEC08
• “Shoe-thrower hailed as a hero in Mideast”, Durriyet Daily News, 15DEC08
• AP – Source of all pictures

While the press corps embarked, Air Force One remained hidden inside it’s hanger.  Bush arrived through an unmarked entrance at Andrews Air Force Base sporting his signature attempt at a disguise – a tan Windbreaker, casual black pants and a baseball cap marked with “43”.  The number signifies that his the nation’s 43rd president. 

Air Force One had left the Washington area on Saturday night.  The window shades were drawn for the entire flight.

The trip to Iraq was to hail “progress in the unpopular war that defines his presidency” and to sign and celebrate the recent U.S.-Iraq security agreement calling for U.S. troops to withdraw from Iraq by the end of 2011 and to meet with Iraqui Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.  The document, known in Iraq as the U.S. troops withdrawal agreement, was passed at the Iraqi parliament last month.

“There is still more work to be done,” Bush said after the meeting, adding that the agreement puts Iraq on solid footing.  “The war is not over,” Bush said, adding that “It is decisively on it’s way to being won.”

At that point a man stood up and yelled “This is a gift from the Iraqis.  This is the farewell kiss, you dog,” and threw his shoe.  Bush ducked, smiling the entire time.  The man then yelled, “This is from the widows, the orphans and those who were killed in Iraq,” throwing a second shoe, which like the first, ended up hitting the wall behind Bush.

The man was grabbed first by an Iraqi reporter before Iraqi Security and Secret Service could drag the man to the floor.  The infamous Secret Service that is suppose to guard the President, was a little slow today however, showing up around Bush after the man threw both shoes and was already dragged to the floor.  While pinned on the floor, the man screamed:  “You killed the Iraqis!”  The man was then dragged away, and could be heard screaming in another room.  Two other Iraqi journalists were briefly detained after one of them called the man’s actions “courageous.”

Among Muslims, shoe throwing at someone, or sitting so that the bottom of a shoe faces another person, is considered an insult, according to CNN.  “In traditional Middle Eastern societies, it’s very rude to show someone the bottom of your feet.  So throwing a shoe at someone is very much a way of saying, ‘You’re beneath me. … I hold you in contempt,” says Daniel Byman, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution’s Saban Center for Middle East Policy.  “In Arab parlance, the height of insult is to call somebody a dog and throw a shoe at them.  It sends a poserful cultural message,” says Fawas Gerges, chairman of Middle Eastern Studies at Sarah Lawrence Colelge in Bronxville, NY. 

An examples of said action include Iraquis slapping their shoes on a topped statue of Saddam Hussein in Firdos Square shortly after the city fell to coalition troops in April 2003.  One other example was in 2004, after four American contractors were ambushed and killed in Fallujah, insurgents hanged two corpses from a bridge as people flailed at them with shoes.  And after the Persian Gulf War, Saddam Hussein installed a tile mosaic floor depicting George H.W. Bush in the lobby of Baghdad’s Al-Rashid Hotel where everyone had no choice but to walk over the 41st president’s image.

Although President Bush was not injured during the shoe throwing, somehow White House Press Secretary Dana Perino was “slightly bruised” in the aftermath of the shoe-throwing incident.  Journalists at the scene said she suffered a black eye, with NBC reporting she was hit in the face with a microphone as security wrestled with the man.

The man was later identified as Muthathar al Zaidi, a journalist/reporter for Al-Baghadadia television, an Iraqi-owned station based in Cairo, Egypt.  Prior he drew attention in November 2007 when he was kidnapped while on his way to work in central Baghdad.  He was released three days later.

Al-Baghdadia issued a statement later demanding their reporter be released.  “Any action taken against Muntathar will remind us of the actions and behavior taken by the reign of the dictator and the violence, the random arrests, the mass graves and confiscations of freedom from the people,” the board of Baghdadiyah TV said.

Bush’s comment on the matter?  “And if you want some – if you want the facts, it’s a size 10 shoe that he threw.”  He was also reported to have stated, “So what if a 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….”

On a side note, it was unclear whether the journalist used “odor eaters” in his shoes or tried just a “smelly shoe attack” on the President….

Bush is now in Afghanistan after leaving Iraq, with his plane landing at Baghram Air Base outside Kabul.  He is there to hold talks with Afghan President Hamid Karzai and address U.S. troops during the visit.

SOURCES:

• “Iraqi journalist throws shoes at Bush in Baghdad”, CNN, 14DEC08
• “Iraqi Throws Shoes At Bush During Press Conference”, Huffington Post, 14DEC08
• “Perino bruised in shoe-hurling melee”, Politico, 14DEC08
• “Bush arrives in Afghanistan on surprise visit”, IC Publications, 14(15)DEC08
• “Bush ducks flying shoes flung by reporter,” USA Today, 14DEC08
• “’Modesto Bee’ Reporter Eyewitness To Shoes Tossed at Bush, “ Editor & Publisher, 14DEC08
• “BUSH NOTEBOOK:  Bush ducks shoes in Baghdad,” NEWS ONE, 14DEC08

FIRST BROKEN PROMISE

In what is now officially Obama style, he gave strong indications that he’s backing off his stance on two promises that he made during his campaigning.  SURPRISE!  The first is whether to repeal Bush’s tax cuts for the rich, something Obama’s economic advisors have quietly been saying for weeks.

“My economic team right now is examining – do we repeal that through legislation?” 

“Do we let it lapse so that, when the Bush tax cuts expire, they’re not renewed when it comes to wealthiest Americans?”

This doesn’t include him saying that he’s now not going to tax the oil industry because oil is less than $40 a barrel.  Hmm.. what about all those records of income that the oil industry made last spring and summer? Anyway…..

SECOND BROKEN PROMISE

The second possible broken campaign promise is his call for bringing U.S. combat troops home from Iraq in 16 months.  As if those of us who never believed a word he promised find this surprising.   

He only said he wanted to do so “as quickly as we can do to maintain stability in Iraq, maintain the safety of U.S. troops, to provide a mechanism so that Iraq can start taking more responsibility as a sovereign responsibility for its own safety and security, ensuring that you don’t see any resurgence of terrorism in Iraq that could threaten our interests.”

Brokaw asked Obama directly about the rumors of “residual force”  of how many troops are going to be left in Iraq, with that number being 35,000 to 50,000.  Brokaw asked him, “Is that a fair number?”

Well, well I’m not gonna speculate on the numbers. [Why can’t this man EVER answer a direct question with a direct answer instead of rehashing what he has said before? While if a news reporter does the same, then he is accused of Obama of trying to stir up trouble.]

Uh, what I said is that we are gonna maintain a large enough force uh, in the region to assure that uh, our civilian troops, or our, our, our civilian personnel and our embassies are protected to make sure that we can uh, ferret out any remaining terrorist activity in the region, in cooperation with the Iraqi government.  That we are providing training and logistical support maintaining the integrity of uh Iraq as necessary.  And one of the things that I’ll be doing is evaluating  the kind of numbers required to meet those very limited goals.”

Now this confuses me.  First Iraq just passed a new law in conjunction with the Bush Administration that all US troops are to be removed by 2011.  And in fact, this new law will be taken and if that fails to subscribe to the withdrawal, the U.S. troops may be forced to leave earlier.  But Obama is saying that he wants to leave troops in Iraq, not commenting on the numbers, in cooperation with the Iraqi government.  Didn’t they just vote and pass a law that they want all US troops out?  And didn’t Obama say he was going to “end the war” in Iraq and bring ALL the troops home from Iraq?  Can you say “double speak” boys and girls?  So I guess that would be a “no” that all the troops aren’t coming home, with guestimates of 35,00 - 50,000 troops staying beyond 2011.  Right now there are about 15 birgades defined as combat forces, but the overall number of troops is more than 50 brigade equivalents, for total of 146,000 troops.  So, if 30,000 – 50,000 stay behind or are rotated around, that means that 20% to 34% of the troops remain past 2011.  Is that what Obama call’s bringing our troops home from Iraq?

And on another note, has Obama said anything about removing troops in Afghanistan? Which by the way, are getting about 3,500 to 4,000 more troops early next year to be deployed near Kabul.  With the Defense Department planning to add more than 20,000 troops to Afghanistan over the next 12-18 months.  Right now, there are about 32,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan.

How do we know that when the troops leave Iraq, if they are going to leave Iraq, that they aren’t going to head straight to Afghanistan?  Well Brokaw questioned Obama about Afghanistan quoting Jim Jones, Obama’s new national security advisor.  He said that when he first talked to Jones when the U.S. first went into Afghanistan he said “I know how we’re going to get into Afghanistan, I don’t know how we’re going to get out of Afghanistan.”  Brokaw asked Obama about what he was telling him today of how we are going to get out of Afghanistan.  Obama stuttered and clamored for a few seconds before answering this question.

“I think were starting to see a consensus, uh that uh, we have to have more effective military action and that means additional troops but also means more coordination with our NATO allies.  Uh, it means we have to have much more effective uh, diplomacy in the region. We can’t solve Afghanistan without solving Pakistan, and working more effectively with that country and we are gonna have to make sure that India and Pakistan are uh, normalizing their relationship if we are going to effective in some of these other areas.  And we’ve got to really ramp up our development approach to Afghanistan, I mean part of the problem that we’ve had is that the average Afghan farmer hasn’t seen any improvement in his life.  Uh, we haven’t seen the kinds of infrastructure improvements.  We haven’t seen the security improvements.  We haven’t seen uh, the uh, reduction in narco trafficking.  We haven’t see a reliance on rule-able law in Afghanistan that would make people  feel confident that the uh, central government   can infact uh, deliver on it’s promises and if we combine effective development, more effective military work, as well as more effective diplomacy, then I think we can stabilize the situation.  Our number one goal has to be to make sure that it can not be used as a base to launch attacks against the United States and we’ve got to get bin-Laden.  And we’ve got to get al-Qaeda.” 

When questioned about India, Brokaw quoted Obama that the United States “has the right to go after terrorists in Pakistan if you have targets of opportunity” and then questioned Obama if India was now included in that right.  Obama flatly stated that he was not going to comment “on that.” In a CNN poll, 8 out of 10 believe the U.S. should side with neither country.  In a side note, things in Pakistan are heating up a bit.  Over 160 vehicles, including dozens of Humvees, thought to cost about a cool $100,000 each, destined for U.S. and allied forces in Afghanistan were torched today.

Also what you probably don’t know about Afghanistan, is that the U.S. has been on a building spree, planning a $100 million airfield expansion in Kandahar and a $50 million prison facility near Bagram Air base. 

What you probably also don’t know is that on Feb 27, 2008m, after two days of meetings in New Delhi, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates quietly announced negotiations between the U.S. and India to develop a missile defense shield program on Indian soil.

But he stated he was going to re-state, again in typical Obama fashion, repeating the same things over and over again, that each country has a right to defend itself against terrorism, that we the United States need diplomacy between all countries in the region, and;

“as I’ve stated before, we can’t continue to look at Afghanistan isolation, we have to see it as a part of a regional problem that includes Pakistan, that includes India, that includes Kashmiere, that includes Iran, and the kind of foreign policy I want to shape  is one in which we have tough direct diplomacy combined with more effective military operations focused on what is the number one threat against US interests and US lives, and that’s al Quaeda and their various affiliates, and we are going to go after them fiercely in the years to come.” 

BTW, if you missed that, it means “Yes we might leave Iraq for now, but guess what, we are going to go elsewhere in the middle east or have to go back to Iraq for specialized operations.” But he’s still pushing that he’s teams will come up with strategies to “fix” all these problems.  And that Hillary Clinton will be able to “rebuild alliances” and  “send a strong signal that we going to do business differently and place an emphasis on diplomacy.”  He’s still in his little bubble that setting up “meetings” and talking in a civilized manner will “fix” and “change” everything.

People, it’s time for a reality check.  Yes, some troops are going to leave Iraq and head straight for Afghanistan, especially since fingers are pointing towards Pakistan for the bombing and recent terror raid in India.  Then we have the whole nuclear deal in Iran.  We are NEVER going to get out of that “region” at least NOT in the next 4 years, much less the next 8 years.  Wars in the name of religion and God have been going on in that region since the beginning of time.  Why do you think that Obama can end that which has been going on since the beginning of time?  Please tell me how he is different from so many others over time.

ONE OTHER COMMENT

Obama pledged to not smoke in the White House.

Also, did anyone else notice how tired Obama looked?  The man actually had circles under his eyes, and for the fist time, I noticed gray in his hair.

Here’s the entire episode of December 7th, “Meet the Press”.