Bush Shoe Thrower: Press Asserts al-Zaidi Had Saddam, Baathist Connections

It seems to be emerging as an accepted fact that Muntather al-Zaidi, the reporter who threw both his shoes at President George W. Bush this weekend, had specific ideological connections to Saddam Hussein and/or the Ba'ath Party, a pleasing conceit that seems intended to isolate al-Zaidi from an Iraqi populace who have, by and large, soured on the U.S. occupation. The most commonly cited source would appear to be this blog post from the New York Times "Baghdad Bureau," which notes that al-Zaidi -- in addition to having a rather commonplace "long-building anger towards the United States military presence in Iraq" -- also had "ties to Saddam Hussein's Baath Party," and was "head of the student union under Saddam Hussein."

Absent from this account is any indication that al-Zaidi pursued either his fealty to Saddam or the Ba'ath Party with any particular zeal. While several people are quoted in the article describing al-Zaidi's politics and positions -- and not always in a positive light -- none attest to any particular love for Saddam Hussein or his ruling party. In a thoughtful piece from the Washington Independent, Spencer Ackerman explains that this is an example of the press jumping to an untenable conclusion:

First of all, Iraqis under Saddam did whatever they had to do to survive given the reality of a totalitarian regime. Baghdad metal band Acrassicauda wrote a song praising Saddam so they could get some funding for equipment. Did al-Zaidi head his student union because he wanted to head a student union or because he believes deeply in the glory of Saddam Hussein? I don't know and you don't either.

And it's completely irrelevant. al-Zaidi has become a symbol in Iraq and the Middle East because the occupation of Iraq is an unwelcome intrusion. Calling al-Zaidi a Baathist is a particularly pathetic way to put one's head in the sand instead of confronting this simple reality. (You know who were also Baathists? Thousands of the so-called Sons of Iraq.)

The Times has abundant evidence that al-Zaidi detested President Bush, took the occupation personally, and had planned to make a symbolic, attention-seeking statement to that effect. But nowhere is it conclusively proven that he was motivated by anything having to do with Saddam Hussein or the Ba'ath Party. Indeed, based upon the extent to which al-Zaidi has been exalted in Iraq, I'd say it's fair to note that al-Zaidi was expressing a very mainstream dissatisfaction.

Comments

[meinokea]

I suppose if the shoe hurling journalist had a bomb it would be a cause for celabration for the pinheads on this site, much as the madrassa in New Jersy that danced while the twin towers came down in flames.

[ErikW65]

Right, because it's all the same...?

Look, your "with us or against us" philosophy is DEAD. It died in the last election. Get over it.

[bumpersticker]

Shock&Awe - Boomerang Edition

Bush's Shock&Awe used surrogates to drop bombs from invisible planes in our name.
This guy's Shock&Awe was two shoes thrown by one man, clearly seen, and willing to personally suffer the consequences of his actions. The latter looks stronger than the former.

[ErikW65]

Well put. Reminds me of Bill Maher's comment after 9/11 comparing ordering the dropping of bombs to remaining in a plane that hits a building; the former being a coward while the latter is not.

[big-jim]

Huhhuh! he's got a shoe thrown at him, haha what a big laugh, he was the bad guy (everybody hated him anyway), goodby and don't come back etc..

GWB will maybe remain in history as a poor leader, but he was YOUR leader for 8 years,.Wit­hin 2-3 years nobody will remember he was elected twice by the american people (and, of course, nobody voted for him never)

The Bush era also had some benefits no? cheap credit whenever needed, ecologically criminal consuming, SUV's, easy investments in the Mandorf funds ..

does the word COLLECTIVE RESPONSABILITY exist on your side of the ocean?

I have no sympathy nor hate for GWB, he was the puppet of a ideology tailormade to respond to your needs, and was smart enough to become president.
I almost feel EMPATHY for him, it must have hurt him deeply to duck for this shoes, much more than the millions of newborn well-thinking democrats funny comments in the blogosphere.

So please stop laughing it's not decent.

Here's my proposition:

No doubt America is a great democracy, far more than european countries or any country in the world, the age limit for voting is 18.
Why not raise it to 40?

(By the way, do you have any projects to clean this mess? apart from piling old shoes in front of the white house witch is ridiculous and an insult to all the people in the world where a new pair of shoes is a financial sacrifice)

[ErikW65]

Yes we do have a project to clean up this mess. You may have heard of it, it's called Plan Obama.

[big-jim]

Without a dramatic change in your way of life and changing for new values the boy won't be able to do much.

No need to live like the Amish, but do you really need air conditioning in your house? Can't GM build and sell busses etc.?
(you meet girls in the bus, one thing you can't do alone in your SUV!)

[QueenOfViolets]

I cannot believe the arrogance of these neocons.

The Bushadmin had already admitted that they made a huge mistake by dismantling Saddam's entire government and military and disbanding the whole Baathist Party after taking Baghdad.

Now they're going look the other way while this guy gets beaten to a pulp and thrown in a dark hole for 15 years -- and justify their inaction because he has links to the old regime?

My stomach contents are volunteering to be hurled in the place of my shoes.

[AliMB]

there is no objective evidence that he is being beaten to a pulp... from the sources that i've read, this allegation of broken ribs etc. comes from Mr. Al-Zaidi's brother, hardley an objective source. I am not saying that it is untrue, but untill we have more evidence i would refrain from making that assupmtion. I for one think the Iraqi security authorities will be more careful with Mr. Al-Zaidi because of the fact that is in the international spotlight. Regardless of his condition, the US governent and Bush have no say in the matter... he is within iraqi custody. the 15 years claim is also untrue; that is what some iraqi legal experts say could be the most severe penalty; mr. al-zaidi has yet to be sentenced. I would imagine the State Department is pressing the Iraqi government to treat him well and give a him light punishment, because the converse would take away weight from the argument that Mr. Al-Zaidi was ironically able to throw his shoe at Bush because of the greater press freedom that resulted with the toppling of the Saddam Hussein regime

[demolove]

Remember the movie,"Wag the Dog"? Remember the song? Heh Heh Heh!

[Profyz]

The shoe-in al-Zaidi, a Saddam guy? I will have you know that he is a Shia, can never be a Saddam follower. Shia and Saddam do not mix. By the way Iran is a leader of world Shias and we have just established an Iranian satellite government in Iraq, thanks to our convoluted genius.

[AliMB]

untrue, there were many shiites who were members of the Baath party... in any autocratic state that has one-party rule, members include all segments of the population, including sect, tribes, religions, etc.

[ErikW65]

That's the only part of the post that is inaccurate. Please address the point about us having in effect established an Iranian satellite govt in Iraq, which then begs the question of whther this whole excersize in "establishing democracy in the ME" was worth it at all!

[wjmorgan]

Muntather al-Zaidi should be held accountable for this gesture of insult to our President. He should not be allowed to get off with this outrage. He needs to learn the consequences of a non-life threatening / unharmful attack of President Bush. I suggest a minimum punishment should be forthright. 2 months of shoe throwing target practice or until he learns how to properly be able to not miss such an easy target. Let this be a lesson to others who are considering such an outrage.

[AliMB]

i think a fine, community service, or a month in jail would suffice... whether you like bush or not, it is illegal to assault/insult a foreign head of state... there are similar laws in the US. If i were to throw my shoe at the President of Iran or the President of Zimbabwe while they were in New York on an official visit, i would be arrested and punished.

[ErikW65]

Unfortunately for your metaphors, neither Iran nor Zimbabwe has the relationship to the US that the US does to Iraq.

[motoboy]

Hey, Bush: Here's looking at SHOE, kid!

[Tituba]

Not to be rude Mr. Linkins, but I have two questions:

1. When a tree falls in a forest but there's no one around, does it really make a sound?
2. When people assert that you have connections to two entities that are dead, do you really have connections? Because Sadam and the Baath party are dead, dead, dead as a door knob!

[AliMB]

1. yes. i am not a physicist, but i think a tree falling creates sound waves which can be measuered.
2. yes, because connections do not have a statue of limitation. on example: nazi war criminals were still considered criminals, even years after the war and the elimination of the national socialist party. If captured by the appropriate authorities, they would still be tried as such

[Pike]

Give al-Zaidi the journalist award of the year. LOL
Why the late President Hussain was hanged was probably because he was a great suporter of The Palestine!

[AliMB]

in reality, i think he was hanged for the specific murder of some shiites in southern iraq that he ordered. whether he was a great supporter of Palestine is questionable; he seem to use this issue for political benefit in the arab world

[moderate1]

The article doesn't state that they have conclusive evidence of his motivation. It says that he had ties to the Saddam's party. They reported the facts. People can determine for themselves if they think that motivated his actions. Why does that bother you?

[JulieSA]

It bothers him because he doesn't want to see his new folk-hero tarnished. Muntather al-Zaidi is the new saint, and his motives must not be questioned.

[AliMB]

its a form of projection­... this man insulted bush and most of the posters here hate bush; thus his image and the sanctitiy of his actions must be upheld. regardless, whether he was a baathist or not is irrelevant. he did something illegal.

[FreelanceMinion]

But the US government had made the case that Saddam's government was a totalitarian regime. In such societies, people have to join the main party to do anything, its not like in the US or Europe where you join a party only as an ideological stand.

Anyway, he seemed to be acting on more recent complaints, and I think if he was a hardened Baathist seeking revenge, it would have been more than a shoe.

[AliMB]

i agree... his beliefs do not seem in line with a hardcore Baathist

[ProfessorDuh]

Boy, you just tell a few lies to invade another country you want to occupy, drop bombs on the civilians and call it "Shock and Awe," use Chinese communist methods to torture a bunch of the people there, "liberate" several hundred thousand of them from their lives, and out of the blue people throw shoes at you! It's just not FAIR!

[demolove]

LOL!!!! LOL!!!! LOL!!!!! Imagine if he hit that DF ! It would have been like the fourth of July!!!

[AliMB]

even, if you were to believe everything that you stated to be true, it still does not make it right to throw your shoe at an invited guest of the state. and if you believe that bush murdered several thousand people (which i don't know and will never be true because he will never be tried in a cout of law on such a charge), then how does getting a shoe thrown at him come close to an equal exchange ("fair")? I for one find it extremely troubling that many posters would encourage such dissrespect to the president of the united states during an official visit abroad. love him or hate him, he is the president and commands respect. I would expect the same for President Obama.

[ErikW65]

Re. "...it still does not make it right to throw your shoe at an invited guest of the state."

Putting aside whether Bush was actually "invited".­.. do you know about the expression, "crocodile tears"? You are asking us to shed these, and I hope you'll forgive us if we don't. Because if you weigh what Bush has done as president, what the USA has done with him in charge, against what this Shoe-Thrower has done, the latter pales in comparison with the former.

Your statement that you would expect the same treatment for Obama is simply a non sequitir. What possible reason would any Iraqi have for throwing his shoe at Barack Obama (unless you think they would hold his middle name, Hussein, against him- lol.)

[Theou]

ProfessorDuh, you write : " use Chinese communist methods to torture"

could you supply details of this provenance?

[Springbirdgirl]

I am not a Bush fan but he is POTUS. I do not want this to be a precedent for out soon to be President. Where were the Secret Service? Just imagine the consequences if it was something more than a shoe? I shudder to think about it...

[kareemachan]

Yeah, I wondered about that too. it seemed like the Secret Service guys were a little slow to react, but then again, they've had to deal with Shrub for too long.

[demolove]

Read the SS report about the way Hillary treated them. You ain't seen slow, yet!

[Sneakerface]

Wrong . 1) He was not legitimately elected, and 2) it isn't about being a precent for Presidents in general, but Bush specifically. Sure, US Presidents deserve a certain amount of respect for their position regardless of whether or not you agree with their policies. But this is different. Bush and his administration were so far above and beyond corrupt that THEY disrespected the office of POTUS. The shoe throwing protest was a much needed statement, not just for Iraqis, but for Americans also. Our Congress has been unwilling to take any official action in impeaching and bringing charges against Bush / Cheney, and now they are trying to revise history and actually claim they did something good and were somehow "successfu­l." Americans who truly love the USA should give kudos to this bold Iraqi journalist.

[moderate1]

1) yes he was. All of your conspiracy theories and half truths won't change it.
2) yawn. I suppose you are the one that decides who has been morally questionable enough to assault with a shoe. Maybe next time I find some democrat to be corrupt, by whatever standard I see fit, I'll just attack him. You and I will agree that I was justified because, afterall, I thought he was a "bad guy" .

[asap]

well stated.

[demolove]

BOOYAH!!!! How many of us would line up for the same chance? If it were pay-for-throw, we could bailout the whole country! LOL!!!

[asap]

well stated sneakerface.

[forpeace]

*

Springbirdgirl
=========

Maybe the Secret Service is sick and tired of him too!

*

[demolove]

Hi Springboardgirl! You're lookin' hot today! I've heard that the reason that the SS were not that close is that they did a complete weapons check before the conference, and no "traditional" weapons were found. The gut should have brought in a big sub, with extra mustard, and some shoe soles on top, for better spread on contact. Try ducking from a flying Blimpies! LOL!!! It ain't so easy! :)

[hughbetcha]

I guess making sense isn't a perequisite for posting here.

[UltraClassic]

Jason, I've been to Iraq for duty, I doubt you have. That is not a "main streem view" as you call it although certainly, plenty of folks would like to throw shoes at President Bush.

There is a little too much joy on this web site concerning this event. I've read where Hugo Chavez is over joyed with the "tossing." Maybe the HuffPo can begin including him as a blogger. He would have many supporters, no doubt.

[ErikW65]

I'll bet the low income folks who received subsidized heating oil from Venezuela could care less what Chavez thinks about the Shoe-Thrower.

[FreelanceMinion]

Yeah, but Chavez has plenty of things he's done that would deserve a Chuck Taylor to the cheek.

[thismachinekillsfascists]

I'm sure that thousands, if not tens or hundreds of thousands of Iraqis who have lost loved ones in this ill-begotten war would LOVE to toss their shoes at Bush

[DAV78]

Not enough joy, ultra. Or were you fighting for something other than 'freedom and liberty'.

Many Americans believe that we killed Saddam because there was no freedom in Iraq under his rule--specifically that there was no freedom to criticize the government. Even more specifically, it is thought that we liberated the people of Iraq from a system in which a journalist could be jailed and beaten for subversive commentary.

Have you deposed Hussein just so you could institute your own harsh restrictions?

And I completely reject the notion that your experience as a uniformed, armed American soldier in Iraq you have some insight into the mindset of the Iraqi people. You killed Iraqis did you not? You jailed them, did you not? You can't kill people, oppress them violently and claim that you know who they are and what they think. You were not there to get to know them, you were there to do a job. And I'm sure you executed the responsibilities of your position faithfully.

[coastalcarla]

sure you have.

[FreelanceMinion]

I have to throw in that I think there's people like myself here who chuckle at this, but also don't really like the idea we have a President that is the subject of such scorn, and who would have actuallty tried to prevent it if we had been there.

That said, there's also people who'd be willing to lose a pair of Keds if they had been there. Kind of brings all those Republicans waving the flip-flops during the 2004 campaign back to my mind.