DAMASCUS - Observers have been busy trying to analyze the facial expressions of
US President George W Bush after an Iraqi journalist threw both his shoes at
him at a press conference in Baghdad. Bush was shaken - startled by the angry
outburst - but managed to keep his cool, ostensibly claiming he did not know
why the journalist attacked him. Bush did not understand Arabic, but the anger
on the journalist's face spoke volumes as he shouted, "This is a farewell kiss
you dog!" He then added - with the second shoe, "This is for the widows and
martyrs of Iraq."
Bush accused the 29-year-old Iraqi of wanting to attract attention, and said
this was proof of how "democratic" Iraq had become after Saddam Hussein.
Everybody acknowledged that the US president was swift in ducking the shoes,
despite being 62, and that his
security was poor - to say the least - since they only burst into the room
after Muntazer al-Zaidi threw his second shoe.
Also noteworthy was the timid reaction of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, who,
watching in complete disbelief, helplessly extended his right arm to block
Zaidi's flying second shoe from reaching his American guest. Full footage
showed Iraqi security wrestling the journalist to the floor, then hitting him
hard as he screamed in pain, while one man shouted, "Turn off all the cameras!"
It was too late. Images of the dramatic scene were already beaming to every
corner of the globe, while people in the Arab world rejoiced at Bush being
humiliated by an Arab. The entire ordeal nearly sparked a new uprising in Iraq,
with hundreds demonstrating daily since then, calling for the shoe-throwing
journalist's release.
The assault re-ignited an Iraqi appetite to fight the Americans, or at least
say "no" to them. Within hours, nearly 200 Arab attorneys proposed defending
Zaidi before a court of law and leading Arab media figures called on the Iraqi
government to release him, claiming he was a national hero. A Saudi national
offered to buy his pair of shoes for US$10 million, while people cheered at
cafes in Damascus, Beirut, Cairo and Ramallah, almost as if the masses were all
watching a football match and their favorite player had scored a goal at the
World Cup.
Front page editorials came out the next day in the Arab press with full
coverage of the defiant journalist's life, saying, "With your shoes, your
raised high the head of all Arabs." Muntazer Zaidi - born on January 5, 1979 -
was raised in Baghdad where he studied journalism and began work at a newspaper
owned by Uday, the son of former president Saddam Hussein. During his college
years, he developed strong anti-American feelings and reportedly became a
communist, blaming the US for the embargo that has crippled the life of
ordinary Iraqis since 1991.
After the fall of Saddam in 2003, Zaidi became critical of the Iranians,
accusing them of becoming too influential in Iraq, unleashing his anger both on
Iran and the US. He reportedly became a strong ally of Shi'ite leader Muqtada
al-Sadr, who currently commands 30 seats in parliament and was the strongest
voice to veto the recently approved Status of Forces Agreement regulating the
US presence in Iraq. Zaidi, who lives in the posh Rashid Street in the heart of
Baghdad, worked for the Baghdadiyah TV station as a reporter and had repeatedly
promised his colleagues he would humiliate Bush if he ever got the chance.
While everybody's attention was focused on Bush and Zaidi (a computer game
about them was created 48 hours after the incident), few people paid much
attention to Maliki. In the video game itself, players carry a shoe and have to
throw it at Bush, who ducks, in order to gain points. Hiding in the corner of
the videogame screen is Maliki. Few people actually paid much attention to
Maliki's reaction after the journalist had been bundled out of the room. Maliki
did not budge.
Some claimed the prime minister was visibly upset, because the embarrassing
shoe assault was aimed at him, as well as his US guest. Maliki after all, had
been brought to power in 2006, and kept there ever since, under the watchful
eye of the United States. The smirk on his face read, "Is this what you
consider heroic? Throwing a shoe at Bush and embarrassing us all?"
Others argue that deep inside, beneath layers of Iraqi officialdom, Maliki was
glad to see Bush being humiliated in Baghdad. Supporters of the prime minister
claim that Maliki was never too fond of Bush or the Americans, but had to deal
with them, in anticipation of their eventual withdrawal, which will take place
before 2011.
The truth is probably somewhere in between, but what we do know is that Zaidi
is currently in the custody of Iraq, and according to his brother has been
tortured and is "seriously wounded” in the arm, leg, chest and eye. Some
sources confirm that he is at the Abn Sina Hospital in Baghdad, being treated
for his injuries.
The Cairo-based al-Baghdadiyah channel where he works has called on the Maliki
government to allow medics or the Iraqi Red Crescent to visit him, a call that
has fallen on deaf ears, although the Iraqi army has denied maltreating him.
When he appeared before an Iraqi judge, Zaidi admitted to "aggression against a
president".
According to Iraqi law, that could be understood as intention to commit murder,
which could bring him a sentence of 15 years in jail. The Maliki regime snapped
back, calling his outburst against Bush a "barbaric and ignominious act". Sami
al-Askari, who is close to Maliki, commented that Zaidi had conducted a
"shameful act which sullies the reputation of the media".
The Sadr bloc, which is reportedly close to Zaidi, remarked on the incident
through its parliamentarian Baha al-Araji, who demanded an inquiry into the
"brutality" of Maliki's guards.
For its part, the White House tried to downplay the incident, and said it was
up to the Iraqi government to decide what it wanted to do with Zaidi, either
pardon or punish him. Dana Perino, the White House spokesman, said, "I think
the president believes that Iraq is a sovereign country, a democratic country,
and they will have a process that they follow on this." The State Department
added, "Obviously, we condemn any kind of unnecessary force used against the
reporter." Spokesman Robert Wood added, "The president harbors no hard feelings
about the incident. We've really moved on."
While the world was debating the case of Zaidi, trouble was brewing all over
Iraq. In the 48 hours that followed the attack, there were several bombings in
different parts of the country, showing how feeble Maliki's security really is.
A car bomb on Tuesday wounded three people during an assassination attempt on
Science and Technology Minister Raed Fihmi, near the Babel Hotel, south of
Baghdad. A bomb went off near a police patrol in central Baghdad, killing three
(including a university student) and wounding seven civilians. Another bomb
targeted police at Andalus Square, killing three and wounding six. A fourth
attack took place in northeastern Baaquba, killing three policemen, and
wounding eight. A fifth assassination attempt on Firas Kazem, the chief of
police in Kirkuk, took place, while four soldiers were killed in another attack
in Mosul. Meanwhile, Iran and Turkey coordinated back-to-back attacks on
Kurdish rebels in the mountains of Iraqi Kurdistan.
Speaking from Cairo, Nawal al-Samarrai, the minister of women affairs, said 14
Iraqi women prisoners were being maltreated in Iraqi jails. The US tried to
downplay the news by announcing it was transferring 39 senior Ba'athists, all
former loyalists to Saddam, into Iraq's custody.
It was not clear if Ali Hussein al-Majid (known in the West as Chemical Ali) or
former deputy prime minister Tarek Aziz were among the prisoners being
transferred to the care of the Maliki government.
These attacks, and Maliki's response to the Zaidi attack, have almost sealed
the fate of the prime minister ahead of next year's parliamentary elections.
The chances of his re-election - after he tried to prevent Zaidi's second shoe
from reaching Bush's face - are now low, to say the least. Zaidi is a hero to
ordinary Iraqis and Arabs, while Maliki appears to be nothing but an instrument
of US power in Baghdad.
Sami Moubayed is editor-in-chief of Forward magazine in Syria.
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