'Modesto Bee' Reporter Eyewitness To Shoes Tossed at Bush

By: E&P Staff Adam Ashton of the Modesto Bee was right there today when an angry journalist tossed not one but two shoes at President Bush at a Baghdad press conference (see separate story). He posted view account and background at a blog today. Here is an excerpt. It's all at:
http://thehive.modbee.com/?q=node/11297

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First I saw President Bush duck to avoid a fast-moving black object ? a shoe.

Then I realized one of the reporters behind me was shouting and, in a way, reloading, with a second shoe. Off it went, just as fast as the first.

I couldn't believe he had time to get a second one off.

A dog pile emerged on my left with Iraqis in blue suits wrestling with the shoe-hurler, Iraqi journalist Muntathar al Zaidi. Zaidi was moaning and moaning. He kept fighting and moaning while the Iraqis in the suits hauled him out of the room, and even then we could still hear him.

Bush laughed ? or tried to laugh it off.

"That's what happens in free societies when people try to draw attention to themselves," Bush said.

Maybe. I'm sure there are some Americans who'd love to toss a shoe at Bush. Of course you wouldn't expect to see that in a closed press conference with professional journalists in the capital....

That's the snapshot. Let me walk you through what brought me there....

We made our way to the prime minister's house, getting searched as we entered his compound, searched as we walked into a holding room before going into the house and then searched again before going in the gate. We saw American soldiers, but no Secret Service.

The Secret Service showed up and we got searched again.

And then we waited. We waited for about two hours in the conference room. At this point, I was the only American reporter in the room.

Oddly enough, one of the Iraqi government delegates gathered the correspondents and told us not to ask questions. "If you want to embarrass the prime minister, ask a question," he said. Ok, that kind of defeats the purpose of bringing together the entire Iraqi press.

Still, the Iraqis were having a blast, taking pictures of themselves at the table and lecterns where Bush and Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki would speak. The mood was positively jovial. Some joked about smartass comments they'd like to ask the president, like "Is the mission accomplished now?" Sounds offensive to Americans, but I'd chalk up to typical reporter banter.

Prime Minister Maliki and President Bush arrived with a red-carpet photo spray. The White House press corps followed. We swapped information and waited another half hour.

Out comes Maliki and Bush. Maliki praises Bush for sticking with Iraq for all this time. Bush returns the favor, praising Maliki. Then Bush gives an overview of the war, acknowledging the sacrifices made by Americans and Iraqis to bring Iraq to the relative stability it enjoys now.

"Schukran," he says, indicating the close of his prepared speech with the Arabic word for "thank you."

Hands leap, especially among the Iraqi press who have never had a chance to ask a question to the American president who shaped their lives for the past five years.

That's when the shoes started flying.

"This is a kiss of goodbye, you dog," Zaidi shouted.

Bush handled himself well. What can you do but try to laugh and point out that dissent comes with freedom?

Maliki and other Iraqi officials looked like they were fuming, probably in no small part because the spectacle went on and on with Zaidi's moans.

Hammed had Zaidi's name and affiliation before he hit the ground. We watched the press conference with a feeling of anticipation.

As it ended, a couple Iraqi security guards in suits took away two more Iraqi journalists because one of them called Zaidi's protest "courageous." Hammed bravely stood up for the journalists. Talking to a friend just isn't a crime. They were released a few minutes later after some American officials intervened on their behalf.

Some of the security guards started looming over members of the White House press corps who flew in with Bush, at least until a White House communications aide shooed them away.

The press conference was not aired live. Few political events are here.

Many of the broadcast reporters feared the Iraqi government would take their cameras and tapes. They expect that things will be tougher for them next time they cover one of Maliki's events.

"This will have consequences for us," one reporter told us.

That's a shame. All the Iraqi reporters in the front row apologized to Bush. It was a reporter who yanked Zaidi to the ground before Iraqi or American guards could reach him.

Interestingly, the Iraqi press came in by bus but had to walk out in the cold night.

What's going to happen to Zaidi? He's in custody, but I don't think there's a doubt that many Iraqis will view his outburst as courageous, even though it clearly embarrassed the prime minister.

Zaidi's TV station is pushing for his release. "Any action taken against Muntathar will remind us of the actions and behaviors taken by the reign of the dictator and the violence, the random arrests, the mass graves and confiscations of freedom from the people," the board of Baghdadiyah TV said.