| President Bush made a farewell visit Sunday to Baghdad, Iraq, where he met with Iraqi leaders and was targeted by an angry Iraqi man, who jumped up and threw shoes at Bush during a news conference. President Bush, left, ducks a thrown shoe as Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki tries to protect him Sunday. 1 of 3 Bush ducked, and the shoes, thrown one at a time, sailed past his head during the news conference with Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki in his palace in the heavily fortified Green Zone. Throwing shoes at someone, or sitting so that the bottom of a shoe faces another person, is considered an insult among Muslims. The man was dragged out screaming after throwing the shoes. As the man continued to scream from another room, Bush said: "That was a size 10 shoe he threw at me, you may want to know." Bush had been lauding the conclusion of a security pact with Iraq as journalists looked on. Watch Bush duck the shoe "So what if the guy threw his shoe at me?" Bush told a reporter in response to a question about the incident. "Let me talk about the guy throwing his shoe. It's one way to gain attention. It's like going to a political rally and having people yell at you. It's like driving down the street and having people not gesturing with all five fingers. "It's a way for people to draw attention. I don't know what the guy's cause is. But one thing is for certain. He caused you to ask me a question about it. I didn't feel the least bit threatened by it. Don't Miss Iraq gives final OK to U.S. pullout plan Blackwater prosecutors meet with Iraqis Ex-Blackwater guards charged with manslaughter "These journalists here were very apologetic. They ... said this doesn't represent the Iraqi people, but that's what happens in free societies where people try to draw attention to themselves." Bush then directed his comments to the security pact, which he and al-Maliki were preparing to sign, hailing it as "a major achievement" but cautioning that "there is more work to be done." "All this basically says is we made good progress, and we will continue to work together to achieve peace," Bush said. Bush's trip was to celebrate the conclusion of the security pact, called the Strategic Framework Agreement and the Status of Forces Agreement, the White House said. The pact will replace a U.N. mandate for the U.S. presence in Iraq that expires at the end of this year. The agreement, reached after months of negotiations, sets June 30, 2009, as the deadline for U.S. combat troops to withdraw from all Iraqi cities and towns. The date for all U.S. troops to leave Iraq is December 31, 2011. Bush called the passage of the pact "a way forward to help the Iraqi people realize the blessings of a free society." Bush said the work "hasn't been easy, but it has been necessary for American security, Iraqi hope and world peace." Bush landed at Baghdad International Airport on Sunday and traveled by helicopter to meet with President Jalal Talabani and his |
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| Views: 380053 | 2008-12-14 |