George Bush Dodges Shoes on Farewell Iraq Visit : December 14, 2008 President Bush's fourth and final visit to Baghdad may not have been quite the fond farewell he had in mind. Amid official visits with Iraqi leaders, the president wound up having to dodge a pair of shoes thrown by a screaming Iraqi journalist. The surprise trip, Bush's first to Iraq since September 2007, was intended to celebrate a security pact between the US and the Iraqi government. Bush's schedule included talks with Iraqi leaders, US troops and officials stationed in Iraq. But at a joint news conference held with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, a man identified as Muntadhar al-Zaiydi, a local television correspondent, threw a shoe at Bush and yelled, "This is a farewell kiss, dog!" and, "This is the end!" The shoe sailed right past the president's head and the thrower was grabbed and dragged out of the room screaming. Bush joked about it, saying, "That was a size 10 shoe he threw at me, you may want you to know." The man's screams were still audible after he had been taken to a separate room. Displaying the soles of one's shoes is considered a deep insult in much of the Arab world. Despite the dramatically improved security in Iraq, every effort was made to keep the presidents travel plans quiet. Reporters invited to make the trip were not told about it until Friday and were allowed to tell only one superior and a spouse. By 7 pm Saturday, the reporters had assembled at Andrews Air Force Base ...
Keywords: george, w., bush, shoe, thrown, president, abc, msnbc, breaking, news
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