[BBC] George W. Bush has some good reflexes for an old guy.

[mom2dogs]

I wonder what happened to the shoe trowing guy??

Is he in detention / prision/ or free?????

This was on Yahoo! this morning:

Official: Shoe-thrower in Iraqi military custody

BAGHDAD – The journalist who threw his shoes at U.S. President George W. Bush was handed over to the Iraqi military, an Iraqi official said, as hundreds took to the streets Tuesday for a second day demanding his release.

Muntadhar al-Zeidi was turned over by the prime minister's security guards to face further investigation by the military command in charge of enforcing security in Baghdad, the official told The Associated Press.

Al-Zeidi was initially taken into custody by Iraqi security and interrogated about whether anybody had paid him to throw his shoes at Bush during a news conference Sunday in Baghdad, according to the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media.

He could face charges of insulting a foreign leader and the Iraqi prime minister, who was standing next to Bush. The offense carries a maximum penalty of two years in jail.

In Mosul, Iraq's third largest city located north of Baghdad, an estimated 1,000 protesters carried banners and chanted slogans demanding al-Zeidi's release.

A couple of hundred more also protested Tuesday in Nasiriyah, a Shiite city about 200 miles southeast of Baghdad, and Fallujah, a Sunni area west of the capital.

"Muntadhar al-Zeidi has expressed the feelings and ambitions of the Iraqi people toward the symbol of tyranny," said Nassar Afrawi, a protester in Nasiriyah.

In Baghdad, the head of the Iraqi Union of Journalists described al-Zeidi's action as "strange and unprofessional" but urged Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to give him clemency.

"Even if he has committed a mistake, the government and the judiciary are broad-minded and we hope they consider his release because he has a family and he is still young," Mouyyad al-Lami told Associated Press Television News. "We hope this case ends before going to court."

The protests came a day after tens of thousands in throughout Iraq demonstrated in support of al-Zeidi, whose action earned him hero status throughout the Arab world.

That reflects Arab animosity toward Bush for the 2003 invasion of Iraq and dissatisfaction with the president's handling of foreign policy matters in the Middle East.

That hostility as persisted even though violence has dropped by more than 80 percent in Iraq since earlier this year when car bombings and gunfights throughout the country were rampant.

Nevertheless, Iraqi security forces and U.S. troops continue to be targeted by insurgents.

A roadside bomb targeting an Iraqi police patrol exploded in central Baghdad's Andalus Square Tuesday, wounding three police officers and three civilians, said Iraqi police officer Salam Mohammed.

The U.S. military said in a written statement that troops killed three suspected insurgents and detained three others in separate operations targeting al-Qaida networks in the northern Iraq.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081216/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_iraq

 

[Renee750il]

IF Shrub has a competent advisor somewhere in that cesspool of a cabinet, they willl advise him to request the man be released.

IF he has one iota of common sense he will make the request formal and public.

That's the only way to pull the teeth from this incident. Anything else and this guy's a martyr and there's a run on roadside bombs.

If he doesn't do this, expect a sharp increase in American military casualties again.

IF Shrub does do it, dude loses a lot of his impact and Shrub comes off as a magnanimous leader rather than another despot - situation turns into a win for Americans rather than another example of giant American ego.

Big IFs.

EDIT: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7785338.stm

If this is true, it's even more imperative that Shrub take the high road on this one. He might enjoy it. New scenery.

 

[M&M's Mommy]

I haven't read the entire thread... but when I first watched the news, my jaws dropped! I felt so bad for Bush.. So bad for us Americans. If they don't respect our President, chances are good that they don't respect us as a nation - and that's upseting considering the many good things we've done to their country.. the many good man that are still there to fight for their freedom...

I'm glad Bush ducked to avoid getting hit. But I don't think it's funny at all.

 

[Jules]

I haven't read the entire thread... but when I first watched the news, my jaws dropped! I felt so bad for Bush.. So bad for us Americans. If they don't respect our President, chances are good that they don't respect us as a nation - and that's upseting considering the many good things we've done to their country.. the many good man that are still there to fight for their freedom...

I'm glad Bush ducked to avoid getting hit. But I don't think it's funny at all.

Who is "they"?! It was one journalist throwing the shoe. And last thing I read, the case is getting investigated and he looks at some jail time. Officials reacted.

This is not directed at you.. I mean it is, but I am tired of all the generalizations in this thread.

This might be a very unpopular opinion and I really do not want to get into this, but I am tired of hearing how grateful the Iraqi nation should be. Yes, changes happened and in our thinking process good changes happened... but that does not mean that it was good for Iraq at that time. A while back we had a discussion about society not being ready for gay service members coming out and serving in combat situations. The major argument was: because society isn't ready for that. Yet we think we are God's gift to Iraq because we invaded it, threw over their complete system and think all is going to be rosy in a couple weeks. Talk about a nation not being ready for a complete change of power and leadership style. There are a lot of cruel dictators out in the world and I would love nothing more than to see that change, but the way it went in Iraq is surely not the way to go. I can speculate the reasons why this war started in the first place all day long, but humanitarian reasons are probably not going to be in the top ten. Just a couple decades ago the U.S. funded Hussein and pumped millions into Iraq. They didn't seem to have a problem with it then.

I do not think it is funny to throw a shoe at someone be it Bush or Joe Miller from across the street. Unfortunately, it is the cool thing to be cruel to one another, bitchy and rude.

And Puck, Germans are not proud as a nation. We are slowly starting to learn to be patriotic, but last thing I know growing up over there is that being proud to be German equals to being a Neo-Nazi. So you can take the Germans out of that pool for now.

 

[HoundedByHounds]

Good post, Jules.

 

[noludoru]

This might be a very unpopular opinion and I really do not want to get into this, but I am tired of hearing how grateful the Iraqi nation should be. Yes, changes happened and in our thinking process good changes happened... but that does not mean that it was good for Iraq at that time. A while back we had a discussion about society not being ready for gay service members coming out and serving in combat situations. The major argument was: because society isn't ready for that. Yet we think we are God's gift to Iraq because we invaded it, threw over their complete system and think all is going to be rosy in a couple weeks. Talk about a nation not being ready for a complete change of power and leadership style. There are a lot of cruel dictators out in the world and I would love nothing more than to see that change, but the way it went in Iraq is surely not the way to go. I can speculate the reasons why this war started in the first place all day long, but humanitarian reasons are probably not going to be in the top ten. Just a couple decades ago the U.S. funded Hussein and pumped millions into Iraq. They didn't seem to have a problem with it then.

:hail::hail:

Really, really good posting, Jules.