Iraqi who threw shoe at Bush in 2008 calls ex-president “arrogant” and says he has no regrets

Iraqi journalist Muntazer al-Zaidi gained worldwide fame when he threw his shoes at US President George W. Bush in 2008. He wanted to demonstrate his anger over the corruption and chaos that followed the US-led invasion of Iraq. in 2003, which turns 20 this March.

And he’s still pissed off.

“The same people who came in 20 years ago with the occupation are still governing, despite failures and corruption. The US knows very well that it brought pseudo-politicians,” he told Reuters, commenting on the episode that took place during Bush’s press conference in Baghdad.

Bush, who was standing next to then-Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, ducked to avoid the shoe thrown at him from across the room. Throwing shoes at someone is a profound insult in the Arab world.

“This is a farewell kiss from the Iraqi people, you dog!” Zaidi shouted before security officers chased him out of the room.

Bush has been criticized across the Middle East for his decision to topple Saddam Hussein, a move launched on the basis of faulty US intelligence that the Iraqi leader had assembled weapons of mass destruction.

The US president downplayed the shoe-throwing incident at the time, saying: “It’s like going to a political rally and people yelling at you. It’s a way for people to get attention.”

Zaidi, who served six months in prison for assaulting a visiting head of state, left for Lebanon after his release but returned to run for an Iraqi parliamentary seat in 2018 seeking to fight corruption, although his election bid failed.

“You feel bitterness seeing people’s pain 24 hours a day,” he said.

Zaidi added that he continued to campaign against corruption and that he never regretted throwing his shoes at Bush.

“This scene is proof that one day a simple person was able to say no to that arrogant man with all his power, tyranny, weapons, media, money and authority, and say that you [Bush] was wrong.”