Bush gets shoes thrown at him.

pski215 · #1 12-14-2008, 07:07 PM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HWt3-kPBQ4A

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/meast/...raq/index.html

Quote:

(CNN) -- President Bush made a farewell visit Sunday to Baghdad, Iraq, where he met with Iraqi leaders and was targeted by an angry Iraqi man, who jumped up and threw shoes at Bush during a news conference.

President Bush, left, ducks a thrown shoe as Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki tries to protect him Sunday.
1 of 3

Bush ducked, and the shoes, flung one at a time, sailed past his head during the news conference with Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki in his palace in the heavily fortified Green Zone.

The shoe-thrower could be heard yelling in Arabic: "This is a farewell ... you dog!" He was dragged out of the room, screaming.

Hurling shoes at someone, or sitting so that the bottom of a shoe faces another person, is considered an insult among Muslims.

As the man continued to scream from another room, Bush said: "That was a size 10 shoe he threw at me, you may want to know."

Bush had been lauding the conclusion of a security pact with Iraq as journalists looked on. Watch Bush duck the shoe

"So what if the guy threw his shoe at me?" Bush told a reporter in response to a question about the incident.

"Let me talk about the guy throwing his shoe. It's one way to gain attention. It's like going to a political rally and having people yell at you. It's like driving down the street and having people not gesturing with all five fingers.

"It's a way for people to draw attention. I don't know what the guy's cause is. But one thing is for certain. He caused you to ask me a question about it. I didn't feel the least bit threatened by it.

Don't Miss
Iraq gives final OK to U.S. pullout plan
Blackwater prosecutors meet with Iraqis
Ex-Blackwater guards charged with manslaughter
"These journalists here were very apologetic. They ... said this doesn't represent the Iraqi people, but that's what happens in free societies where people try to draw attention to themselves."

Bush then directed his comments to the security pact, which he and al-Maliki were preparing to sign, hailing it as "a major achievement" but cautioning that "there is more work to be done."

"All this basically says is we made good progress, and we will continue to work together to achieve peace," Bush said.

Bush's trip was to celebrate the conclusion of the security pact, called the Strategic Framework Agreement and the Status of Forces Agreement, the White House said.

The pact will replace a U.N. mandate for the U.S. presence in Iraq that expires at the end of this year. The agreement, reached after months of negotiations, sets June 30, 2009, as the deadline for U.S. combat troops to withdraw from all Iraqi cities and towns. The date for all U.S. troops to leave Iraq is December 31, 2011.

Bush called the passage of the pact "a way forward to help the Iraqi people realize the blessings of a free society."

Bush said the work "hasn't been easy, but it has been necessary for American security, Iraqi hope and world peace."

Bush landed at Baghdad International Airport on Sunday and traveled by helicopter to meet with President Jalal Talabani and his two vice presidents at Talabani's palace outside the Green Zone.

It marked the first time he has been outside the heavily fortified Green Zone in Baghdad without being on a military base.

The visit was Bush's fourth since the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in March 2003.

Afterward, Talabani praised his U.S. counterpart as a "great friend for the Iraqi people" and the man "who helped us to liberate our country and to reach this day, which we have democracy, human rights, and prosperity gradually in our country."

Talabani said he and Bush, who is slated to leave office next month, had spoken "very frankly and friendly" and expressed the hope that the two would remain friends even "back in Texas."

For his part, Bush said he had come to admire Talabani and his vice presidents "for their courage and for their determination to succeed."

As the U.S. and Iraqi national anthems played and Iraqi troops looked on, he and the Iraqi president walked along a red carpet. Watch President Bush and Iraq's president walk the red carpet »

Before midnight in Iraq (4 p.m. ET), the White House announced that Bush had left.

In remarks to reporters, National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley, who traveled with Bush, described the situation in Iraq as "in a transition."

"For the first time in Iraq's history and really the first time in the region, you have Sunni, Shia and Kurds working together in a democratic framework to chart a way forward for their country," he said.

Sponsored Links

Eric5273 · #2 12-14-2008, 07:19 PM

Too bad he missed.

bozo · #3 12-14-2008, 07:19 PM

His "ducking" skills were very impressive, I must say...I would have taken one of those to the nose for sure....

MiCkEy · #4 12-14-2008, 07:22 PM

No matter how bad Bush did (or did not do) in his tenure, this is a disgrace and Presidents need not be treated like this.

Quicksilver · #5 12-14-2008, 07:36 PM

I believe in this case Mr. Bush handled it properly

"So what if the guy threw his shoe at me?" Bush told a reporter in response to a question about the incident. "Let me talk about the guy throwing his shoe. It's one way to gain attention. It's like going to a political rally and having people yell at you. It's like driving down the street and having people not gesturing with all five fingers.

"It's a way for people to draw attention. I don't know what the guy's cause is. But one thing is for certain. He caused you to ask me a question about it. I didn't feel the least bit threatened by it.

In this case better a shoe and an insult than an attempt with a bullet.

Right on George "W".......

Eric5273 · #6 12-14-2008, 07:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MiCkEy

No matter how bad Bush did (or did not do) in his tenure, this is a disgrace and Presidents need not be treated like this.

Somehow I doubt you would say this about certain foreign leaders (present and past) which you have bad opinions of. Keep in mind the guy who threw the shoes was from another country, so Bush was a "foreign leader" to him. Would you keep consistant in your view if it had been Hugo Chavez up there? What about Saddam Hussein? Or Adolph Hitler? They are/were all "Presidents" too.

AzNMpower32 · #7 12-14-2008, 09:38 PM

Nice duck! I too would have taken one in the face. Then thrown it back at the person.

X5rolls · #8 12-15-2008, 12:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eric5273

Too bad he missed.

Regardless if you like him, you wish others would harm our president and make him appear to be hurt?

Stupid and shameful.
A true American would not give people that hate us that kind of view of Americans. Where the hell do you get off saying that outside of your right to free speech.

That is total BS and a slap in the face to our military who are in harms way everyday protecting your rights, including welfare and free speech.

Shame on you. Wow.

MiCkEy · #9 12-15-2008, 12:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eric5273

Somehow I doubt you would say this about certain foreign leaders (present and past) which you have bad opinions of. Keep in mind the guy who threw the shoes was from another country, so Bush was a "foreign leader" to him. Would you keep consistant in your view if it had been Hugo Chavez up there? What about Saddam Hussein? Or Adolph Hitler? They are/were all "Presidents" too.

You doubt wrong. I would say the same for all the presidents. They do need some respect no matter how bad they did...but then again, that is my opinion.

X5rolls · #10 12-15-2008, 12:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eric5273

Somehow I doubt you would say this about certain foreign leaders (present and past) which you have bad opinions of. Keep in mind the guy who threw the shoes was from another country, so Bush was a "foreign leader" to him. Would you keep consistant in your view if it had been Hugo Chavez up there? What about Saddam Hussein? Or Adolph Hitler? They are/were all "Presidents" too.

Adolf Hitler compared to Bush.

I think you have lost your mind.

Sponsored Links