Havana, Cuba. - This time it was Paris and not occupied Baghdad, where Iraqi journalist Muntadar al-Zaidi threw his shoe at the then president of the United States, George W. Bush, on December 14 2008. Now he was the target, attacked in a similar way when he was offering a press conference in the French capital. He was promoting a campaign in favor of Iraq war victims and condemnation of the occupying forces.

The world remembers him not only for having thrown his shoe at Bush, but because he yelled: “This is the goodbye kiss form the Iraqi people, you dog” before he did it.

Former president W. had gone to Baghdad, according to him, to “salute the troops that he sent to fight terrorism.” He did not care that the number of Iraqis killed as a consequence of the invasion and occupation had already exceeded the figure of one million and more than 3 000 US soldiers had perished as well.

But Bush, with the cynicism that always characterized him, preferred to go to occupied land before entering history as the former president… that decided to take their oil away.

The “new shoe” thrown in the educated Paris, was heavily manipulated by the media. The perpetrator is some dude called Khayat. He is one of those Iraqis sponsored and even funded by the West that bet on occupation, even when Hussein’s times are long gone.

Khayat defined himself as an advocate of US policies against Iraq and accused Al-Zaidi of “serving a dictatorship.”

After the incident, with plenty of shoving and punching, the press conference in Paris continued. Then the story of the shoe thrown at Bush was the focus of questions and answers again.

BBC recalls that in a survey about the event, Al Zaidi was regarded as a hero by millions of Arab people and by two thirds of the Iraqis.

There is no doubt that the new shoe thrown in the French capital gives more celebrity and value to the action of journalist Al Zaidi, who threw his shoe against George W. Bush in Baghdad.

Translated by: Pedro A. Fanego

( 03.12.2009 10:13 AM )