Muntadhar al-Zaidi, the Iraqi journalist who threw his shoes at then-U.S. President George W. Bush in 2008, maintains he has no regrets and would perform the act again. Al-Zaidi, now 47, told the Daily Mail via WhatsApp from Baghdad that his anger towards the U.S. occupation of Iraq remains.
"Bush claimed he would greet the Iraqi people with flowers, whereas I encountered force," al-Zaidi said. "It was based on false claims - that the Iraqi people would welcome the invader with flowers. Then there were the actions committed in Iraq, the killing of innocents, the sectarianism, these factors also drove me to that decision [to throw the shoes]."
The incident occurred on December 14, 2008, during a press conference in Baghdad where President Bush was meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to discuss a Status of Forces Agreement. Al-Zaidi, then a 29-year-old journalist for Al-Baghdadia TV, threw both his shoes at Bush, yelling, "This is a farewell kiss from the Iraqi people, you dog!" and "This is from the widows, the orphans and those who were killed in Iraq."
Bush evaded both shoes, with one striking a U.S. flag behind him. In the commotion, White House press secretary Dana Perino sustained bruising to her eye from a microphone boom. Bush described the event as one of the "weirdest" he had witnessed during his presidency and noted the shoes were a "size 10."
Al-Zaidi was immediately apprehended and charged under Iraqi Judicial Law with "Attacking a visiting foreign president." He reported being subjected to torture, including electric shocks, beatings, flogging, and waterboarding, for three days by Iraqi guards. He later blamed the government of Nouri al-Maliki for his mistreatment. At his trial, al-Zaidi stated he was