This article also appears at: Political Cortex, The Smirking Chimp and My Left Wing.
The Sunday incident where Iraqi journalist Muntader al-Zaidi threw shoes at George Bush during a news conference while calling him a "dog"-, a term more insulting in Arabic than in English represents the latest example of an administration in what a psychiatrist or psychologist would term "reality denial."-
It was so typical of Bush himself to shrug off the incident by joking that Muntader al-Zaidi wore a "size 10 shoe"- and state that he "just wanted to be noticed"-. Andrea Mitchell, also known as Mrs. Alan Greenspan -- if you will recall he was a major instrument in helping destroy the U.S. economy -- said on CNN Monday that Bush had won points with Iraqis through injecting humor into the picture.
This is that same good old reality denial that the unholy trio of Limbaugh, O'Reilly and Hannity have turned into a media art, albeit a sick and distorted style of media art designed to bury the truth.
In Monday's New York Times a story written by Timothy Williams and Sharon Otterman with a Baghdad place line bore the headline: SHOE-HURLING IRAQI BECOMES A FOLK HERO.
The article reveals in the fifth paragraph what the Iraqi journalist said as he hurled the shoes: "This is a gift from the Iraqis; this is the farewell kiss, you dog!"-
Zaidi, a correspondent for the independent Iraqi television station Al-Baghdadia, strongly opposed U.S. occupation of Iraq and often ended his reports with the words "reporting from occupied Iraq"-.
The network posted an image of the 29-year-old Zaidi in the corner of the screen for much of the day. Viewers were invited to phone in their opinions. According to the New York Times account "the vast majority "- approved of his actions."-
Williams and Otterman stated in the following paragraph that the young journalist had received praise from many opponents of the U.S. presence in Iraq and that he had been "vault(ed) "- to near folk hero status."-
Can any of this come honestly and truly as a surprise? Remember that recent polls have revealed that a solid majority of Iraqis want the U.S. to leave the country.
Could it be that Zaidi, who burst into tears after the incident, and as he was being subdued, like many of his countrymen are aware of those secretive meetings held in Dick Cheney's office with the big guns of the oil industry present, beginning with Cheney's own company, Halliburton?
Could they be aware that Donald Rumsfeld's "shock and awe"- attack that dismantled Baghdad was done so that Halliburton, Bechtel and the rest of the New World Order privileged could occupy the nation?
Could it be that they are aware that according to the reports of the John Hopkins Institute and others that some 1.25 million or more of Iraq's citizens have died as a result of the initial U.S. attack and subsequent occupation?
Could it be that they are aware that a reported 2.5 million Iraqis have fled their own country and crowded neighboring Arab nations as a result of the initial U.S. attack and subsequent occupation?
Could it be that they are furious over the campaign of lies built around "weapons of mass destruction"- that did not exist?
Could it also be that they are furious over the pathetic tragedy of so much mainstream media reporting as well as the failure of the U.S. Congress to support and defend the Constitution by holding impeachment hearings against Bush, Cheney and others who trampled that cherished document and international law in the process?
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