AT times, some deeds are literally wrong, yet they gain much favor. The unscripted moment at the valedictory visit of President Bush to Iraq falls into this category. An Iraqi journalist hurled his shoes at the president and denounced him on live television as a ‘dog' who delivered death and sorrow to Iraq during the nearly six years of war. Although, this was just a case of misconduct by a journalist, it has garnered much acknowledgment from the distressed nation of Iraq as well as the rest of the world, specifically the Muslim countries. Within a short span of time, this incident became the talk of the town. Bush himself joked about the attack saying, “All I can report is a (shoe) size 10.” His friends and foes have also taken it sarcastically by sending SMS, E-mails and commenting in a light manner in the media. None other than Condelezza Rice commented, with a smile, that, “It proves the Iraqi nation is enjoying its freedom.” I too received a message which said, “Never buy Iraqi shoes, they never work well.” Indeed, this SMS joke turns out to be a means employed by ordinary civilized people to admit their disgust for the negligence and errors of the US in leading the world to believe that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction. As a result, an overly angry member of the media, on behalf of his nation, showed his aggression, calling it a symbolic action on the eve of the end of the campaign and operation against Iraq. Undoubtedly, a journalist is a person who represents the public approach; otherwise he cannot be an accepted figure among his readers, especially in this era when egalitarianism and freedom are the basic notions of the common man. Hence, the shoe-thrower wanted to point out in his style that Bush has destroyed his country without any reason. However, by indulging in public violence the Iraqi journalist, who is a Muslim, was also demonstrating that regrettably – and wrongly – Muslims frustrated by their community's repeated and total failures do indulge in public violence or ‘terrorism'. That further maligns the global image of Muslims. This was Bush's ‘surprise' trip to Iraq and Afghanistan, but tasting dissent and rebellion, he was forced to duck the attack, which surprised the world more than anything else. More astonishing was the president's reaction when he said in a guiltless manner that he did not know why the Iraqi journalist tried to hit him and that this does not represent the thinking of the majority in Iraq. Is Bush really unaware why Obama won the recent election? Bush was welcomed by the Muslims of the world in 2000 at the time of the presidential elections, but he has lost the favor of and is disliked by people in and out of America for his aggressive and bigheaded policies which have put many underdeveloped countries in a defensive position. Pakistan is a key example of this scenario where democracy is a ‘bone' which it cannot swallow nor can it spew it out. For sure, Mr. Bush is smart enough to save himself from the approaching shoe, while also evaluating the shoe number. If he could also evaluate the degree of an Iraqi's pain, he would have never reached a situation where he would have to gauge the size of an Iraqi shoe. The soles of shoes are considered an ultimate insult in Arab culture. This is the same Iraqi nation, now hurling shoes at Bush, which once when America entered the country was busy flinging shoes and stones on the statues of Saddam Hussain and his allies, ravaging their own countrymen and fighting on tribal and sect-oriented differences. When Americans were entering Iraq with its opportunistic mindset, they were welcomed with garlands. For another 20 years, the next generation of Iraqis, who are growing up in refugee camps in the Middle East and are living under the threat of bomb blasts in Baghdad, will sustain cheap oil for America. Historically, it is obvious that negligence, indiscipline and a lack of unity make way for self-interested external elements to inhabit and wrongly benefit in other lands. ‘Divide and rule' is a law which has been utilized by the winner and is unnoticed by the loser. To be honest, we ‘Muslims' should hit our own empty heads with shoes as well, as we do not seem to learn the lessons from history and keep repeating the same mistakes for centuries.
