Thousands of Iraqis took to the streets today(12/15/2008) to demand the release of the journalist who threw his shoes at George Bush.

Arabs throughout the Middle East hailed Muntadhar Al-Zeidi as a hero and praised his insult as a proper sendoff to the reviled U.S. president, who was paying a farewell visit to the country his forces invaded.

Mr Zeidi had yelled: ‘This is a farewell kiss, you dog. This is from the widows, the orphans and those who were killed in Iraq,‘ as he hurled the footwear during a press conference in Baghdad on Sunday. …[MORE]

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References:

1. In Iraqi’s Shoe-Hurling Protest, Arabs Find a Hero — The Iraqi journalist who threw shoes at President Bush has stirred emotions across the Arab world.

2. Flying Shoes Create a Hero In Arab World — After the U.S.-led invasion in 2003, Zaidi was distraught over the torture of prisoners at Abu Ghraib. He interviewed widows and orphans in his work as a journalist, once telling an editor that he hoped to meet Bush “and hit him with my shoes.” Earlier this year, Zaidi was arrested during an American raid in his neighborhood and released a day later. And in March he covered a U.S. airstrike in which children were trapped under the rubble. “This incident made him very angry against the American forces,” recalled Maithan al-Zaidi, 28, his brother.