The Iraqi who threw the shoe at W says ...

When I threw the shoe in the face of the criminal, George Bush, I wanted to express my rejection of his lies, his occupation of my country, my rejection of his killing my people. My rejection of his plundering the wealth of my country, and destroying its infrastructure. And casting out its sons into a diaspora.

Excerpt from Muntazer al-Zaidi's statement at the Guardian.
He ends with:

If I have wronged journalism without intention, because of the professional embarrassment I caused the establishment, I apologise. All that I meant to do was express with a living conscience the feelings of a citizen who sees his homeland desecrated every day. The professionalism mourned by some under the auspices of the occupation should not have a voice louder than the voice of patriotism. And if patriotism needs to speak out, then professionalism should be allied with it.

I didn't do this so my name would enter history or for material gains. All I wanted was to defend my country.

And, to refresh our memories, here is the video of the shoe-toss that echoed around the world:

It’s Time for the US to Declare Victory and Go Home

That is the bottom line from Col. Timothy Reese:

The general lack of progress in essential services and good governance is now so broad that it ought to be clear that we no longer are moving the Iraqis “forward.” Below is an outline of the information on which I base this assessment:

1. The ineffectiveness and corruption of GOI Ministries is the stuff of legend.
2. The anti-corruption drive is little more than a campaign tool for Maliki
3. The GOI is failing to take rational steps to improve its electrical infrastructure and to improve their oil exploration, production and exports.
4. There is no progress towards resolving the Kirkuk situation.
5. Sunni Reconciliation is at best at a standstill and probably going backwards.
6. Sons of Iraq (SOI) or Sahwa transition to ISF and GOI civil service is not happening, and SOI monthly paydays continue to fall further behind.
7. The Kurdish situation continues to fester.
8. Political violence and intimidation is rampant in the civilian community as well as military and legal institutions.
9. The Vice President received a rather cool reception this past weekend and was publicly told that the internal affairs of Iraq are none of the US’s business.

Yes, please bring them home.
And, more importantly, please do not keep sending more to Afghanistan.

Iraq, the sovereign colony?

I don't think I will be as harsh in my assessment of the Iraqi situation as is this editorial in The Hindu: "The regime of Nouri al-Maliki apparently has no qualms about plumbing new depths of ignominy."

But, the editorial is certainly an example of the views of quite a few millions (billions?) out there who see the US/Maliki relationship as not being helpful to Iraq.

Meanwhile this editorial in the Boston Globe has a title that says it all: Iraq, the sovereign colony? And the lead sentence in the editorial is absolutely unequivocal: "President Bush has been treating Iraq less as an ally than a vassal."

I wonder how this nightmare will end! Certainly not via Iran, I hope.