The journalist who threw shoes at Bush Jr. spoke about the reasons for his action.
Muntazar al-Zeidi, a journalist who threw shoes at U.S. President George W. Bush in December 2008, said he did it in order to show the negative impact of Western propaganda on Iraq. He said this in an interview with Izvestia on October 30.
"It was my first idea to show how Western propaganda and false media were used against Iraq," al-Zeidi said.
According to him, propaganda rhetoric was used against Iraq under the pretext of the presence of weapons of mass destruction there. Then Bush Jr. said that the Iraqi people would "greet him with flowers," but the citizens of the country resisted the attack from the first day, the journalist added.
"Therefore, I was looking for a way to respond to these rumors with a force equal in impact, but opposite in direction. And then the idea of "hitting with shoes" arose, because in Arab and Iraqi folk culture this means complete rejection of a person — the absence of any respect, recognition or dignity," he stressed.
Subsequently, al-Zeidi was arrested and, according to him, tortured.
"When I was released, since then and to this day I have been fighting for the rights of my people, for the rights of orphans and widows. I tried to file a lawsuit against <...> Bush," the journalist said.
On December 14, 2008, during a joint press conference between Bush and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, correspondent al-Zeidi suddenly rose from his seat and said, "This is a gift from the Iraqis. This is a goodbye kiss, you are a dog." He threw a shoe at the US president, then the journalist bent down, took the other shoe and threw it as well.
10 years later, an Iraqi journalist ran for the country's parliament. He noted that he must "change the miserable state of affairs in Iraq." Az-Zeidi added that he would not use his fame in the nomination.
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