Shoe-Thrower was Reacting to US Aerial Bombings

clipped from www.juancole.com Iraqi journalist Muntazir al-Zaidi, who threw the shoes at Bush in Baghdad, shouted "Killer of Iraqis, killer of children." while security guards piled on him. McClatchy reports that he had covered the US bombing of Sadr City last spring, in support of PM Nuri al-Maliki's incursion into this stronghold of the Sadr Movement and its Mahdi Army, and is said to have been emotionally affected by the sight of that destruction. The frequent US bombing of civilian Iraqi cities that are already under US military occupation has been one of the most under-reported stories of the Iraq War. Even as Bush spoke of the situation in Iraq in glowing terms, guerrillas set off three bombs in the capital on Sunday, wounding 17 persons. As usual, Bush had to sneak in and out of Iraq under a shroud of secrecy, giving the lie to his assertions about its good security situation.

In related news, al-Zaidi has apparently been abused by Iraqi forces while under arrest, suffering "a broken arm and ribs," along with internal bleeding.

Yeah, George. Iraq's a real goddam paradise now. You must be so proud.