Shoe-assault served Bush well, some US citizens say

San Francisco: US President George Bush deserved the shoes-assault by Iraqi journalist, some US citizens told Gulf News.

"A number of shoes should be hurled at him, equivalent to the number of deaths he has caused since the start of the Iraq's war in 2003," said Luci, a female cashier at one of Walgreens stores in San Francisco city.

"Since he invaded Iraq in 2003 for reasons that later turned out to be baseless, President Bush 'insulted the Arab world and rubbed their faces in mud. Now it's about time someone rises and confronts him by any means," she added.

Gulf News hit the roads in San Francisco and interviewed a cross-section of individuals who conveyed their happiness and appreciation to Muntadar Al Zaidi, the 29-year-old Iraqi reporter who hurled his shoes to president Bush during a joint press conference with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki. Al Zaidi works for Cairo-based Al Baghdadeya TV.

"I am sure most residents in California state were happy to see that brave journalist giving Bush a well-deserved treatment," said Mathew M, a tourist guide based in San Francisco's Union Square. "He has not only insulted the Arab nation but he also ridiculed the American nation with his unjustified war against Iraqis. The action served him well, as I believe the journalist was only expressing the feelings of many other Iraqis.

And Bud, a 34-year-old taxi driver echoed the same sentiments. "All Iraqis, given the chance, should hurl their shoes at Bush," he said.

Bold nerves

Barbara, who works at the Bank of America, said Bush should be taken to a public square in Iraq and suffer more humiliation after what he did to that country. "I was thrilled to know that it was during a live broadcast as many people got to witness the ordeal," he said.

Rob, a waiter at a restaurant in Pier 1 area down San Francisco Bay, said the media is the world's strongest weapon and what that courageous Iraqi journalist did requires 'bold nerves' to throw shoes at the president of the country that destroyed and occupied his homeland.

"That's the best moment of the century," he said.

Malaysia: Al Zaidi praised

Malaysia's foreign minister has praised the Iraqi journalist who tossed his shoes at President George W. Bush, saying it was the "best show of retaliation" for the US invasion of Iraq.

Rais Yatim praised "the shoe-throwing act by that remarkable reporter who gave President Bush his final farewell.

"That shoe-throwing episode, in my view, is truly the best weapon of mass destruction to the leader who coined the phrase 'axis of evil' to denote Iran, Iraq and North Korea," he said in a speech late on Friday at a dinner to commemorate the 63rd anniversary of the United Nations. Malaysia opposes the US-led war in Iraq.

- AP