Iraqi journalist Muntazar al-Zaidi suffered, according to his brother, “suffered a broken hand, broken ribs and internal bleeding, as well as an eye injury” and had to go to hospital after he protested Bush’s press conference in Baghdad by throwing shoes at the president. The Doha Center for Media Freedom has expressed concern about the […]
Cole on Lehrer News Hour & Bush Legacy in Iraq
My debate with Michael Rubin about the Bush legacy in Iraq on the Lehrer News Hour for December 15 is now available at the PBS site, with a transcript and streaming video. Here are some excerpts from the transcript: ‘ RAY SUAREZ: Professor Cole, let me start with you. Over the weekend, President Bush said, […]
Najaf Crowd Pelts US Troops with Shoes; Al-Zaidi in Military Custody; Bush Wars Cost $900 Bn.
Thousands of Iraqis demonstrated on Monday, demanding the release of Muntazar al-Zaidi, the journalist who threw shoes at Bush. In the Shiite holy city of Najaf, south of Baghdad, crowds threw shoes at an American military patrol. Al-Hayat reports in Arabic that tribal chieftains in Kirkuk and Diyala Provinces showed solidarity with al-Zaidi and demanded […]
OSC: Sadrists Applaud al-Zaidi’s Shoe-Throwing
The USG Open Source Center translates reports on Dubai al-Sharqiyah Television in Arabic on 15 December regarding the throwing of shoes at George W. Bush during a news conference on Sunday: ‘Iraqi Officials Express Mixed Reactions to Shoe-Throwing IncidentIraq — OSC SummaryMonday, December 15, 2008 . . . — “The Iraqi Journalists Association (IJA) expressed […]
Shoe-Thrower had been Traumatized by US Aerial Bombings
Iraqi journalist Muntazir al-Zaidi, who threw the shoes at Bush in Baghdad, shouted “Killer of Iraqis, killer of children.” while security guards piled on him. McClatchy reports that he had covered the US bombing of Sadr City last spring, in support of PM Nuri al-Maliki’s incursion into this stronghold of the Sadr Movement and its […]
Two BBC Stories 5 Years Apart: Leaders and Shoes
A journalist, Muntazir al-Zaidi of Baghdadiya Television, aimed two shoes at W. during a news conference in Baghdad during which Bush attempted to justify his invasion of Iraq. Baghdadiya, based in Cairo, Egypt, supports the Sunni Arab insurgents fighting the US and the al-Maliki government. Al-Zaidi shouted “This is a farewell kiss!” as he launched […]
Odierno: Thousands of US Troops will Remain in Cities
Gen. Ray Odierno said Saturday in Baghdad that non-combat US troops would remain inside Iraqi cities after June 30, 2009, in a training and mentoring capacity. The security agreement concluded between Washington and the Iraqi government appears to call for all US troops to be deployed to bases outside the cities by the end of […]
Repubs waste $50 bn. in Iraq, but stiff Detroit
You know how the Republicans in the Senate refused to spend $30 billion to bring the US auto industry back from the brink? It turns out that they were prefectly happy to waste $50 billion in taxpayer money on reconstruction boondoggles in Iraq on explicity partisan grounds. A veteran Republican lobbyist, says the NYT, explicitly […]
Dabbagh: Some US Troops likely to be Needed for a Decade
Iraqi government spokesman Ali Dabbagh, who is visiting Washington, DC, said Friday that “We do understand that the Iraqi military is not going to get built out in the three years. We do need many more years. It might be 10 years.” Critics took him to be saying that the US military might be needed […]
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