Tossed

TOSSED

Muntader al-Zaidi was sentenced to 3 years in prison.

If his name sounds unfamiliar, perhaps the image of two shoes lofted in quick succession toward the bobbing and weaving soon-to-be-ex-president George W. Bush might ring a bell.

Bush had been in Iraq for a surprise visit, having spent the morning addressing an enthusiastically cheering military audience who responded to his requisite platitudes on freedom and American success in Iraq with choruses of “USA! USA! USA!” and “Hoo-ah”.

The press conference with Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki turned out to be slightly less scripted.

“This is a gift from the Iraqis; this is the farewell kiss, you dog!” shouted Muntader al-Zaidi as he heaved shoe #1. He quickly tossed another shoe while exclaiming, “This is from the widows, the orphans and those who were killed in Iraq!”

Muntader al-Zaidi was immediately subdued, beaten bloody and reportedly tortured while in custody.

Video footage of the incident went viral on the web, and while there was sufficient hand-wringing disapprovals for his actions, it’s likely that Muntader al-Zaidi’s growing hero status among a good number of people both in Iraq and throughout the Middle East resulted in a sentence shorter than the 15 years he had been facing for “aggression against a foreign leader during an official visit”.

But 3 years in prison… for shoes?

A little perspective is warranted here.

For more than six years the United States government has brutalized Iraq and it’s people. A few highlights include:

• The airborne terrorism of “shock and awe.
• Leveling Fallujah and using flesh-burning white phosphorus.
• Officially sanctioned degradation and torture in Abu Ghraib prison.
• Damaged infrastructure, reduced electricity and a polluted water supply.
• Millions of refugees and 740,000 war widows.
• A death toll from invasion, occupation and sectarian warfare, that is estimated to exceed a million.

These are the gifts America has bestowed to Iraq.

Not by accident, but by design, resulting from decisions made, orders given and actions taken.

By any measure of justice these are crimes against humanity.

Yet outside the wrist slaps and occasional prison time meted against a handful of lower ranking military personnel after publicity was too great and punishment unavoidable, there has been NO, repeat, NO accountability for what the United States government has done to Iraq and it’s people.

So it should be no surprise that a dedicated young Iraqi broadcast journalist was less than amused by the sight of the chief architect of his country’s destruction descending on Iraq to spew one last noxious mix of bald-faced lies and smug self-congratulation.

Muntader al-Zaidi has spoken plainly to what he felt at that moment.

“I could only see Bush and feel the blood of the innocents flow under his feet, as he was smiling that smile — as if he had come to bid farewell to Iraq and with the last support and more than 1 million martyrs….At that moment, I felt this is the man who killed our nation … the main murderer and the main person responsible for killing our nation.”

But as we see, righteous indignation is not permissible for those, like Muntader al-Zaidi, who bear legitimate grievances. Moral outrage still remains the legitimate property only of those imperial governments, like our own, who consistently use the power of emotion to magically transform their aggression into victim hood, and military assaults into justified defensive acts.

So, on March 12th the wheels of justice finally arrived at their destination.

The great and wonderful ex-President Bush is now safe at home, always available for photo-ops, shallow interviews, or an occasional phone consultation with the present administration. He is free to do what he likes, with no fear of any consequences for his many, many crimes.

In Iraq, Muntader al-Zaidi faces a three year sentence for tossing shoes.

Mission accomplished.