Given the number of recommended diaries here praising the Iraqi shoe-thrower and demanding his release, mine is certainly an unpopular sentiment on the issue. Yet I believe it needs to be voiced.
Let me just emphasize, from the get-go, that this was never our decision to make--it is the decision of the Iraqis. Yet the Iraqis are at a crossroads with this case: they can enact justice by popular opinion, or they can follow the rule of law as established by the Iraqi Parliament.
I believe that all Americans--regardless of where we stood on the so-called Iraq War, and regardless of our opinion about the target of the shoe-throwing--ought to support an Iraqi system of government sustained by the rule of law, not by the whims of popular sentiment there. And what does the Iraqi law dictate? That Al-Zaidi face the music, and go to jail. Please continue below the fold.
For all of those still solidly behind Al-Zaidi, I would like you momentarily to imagine a seemingly different circumstance. Imagine it were President Barack Obama speaking, not in Iraq, but in Israel--following a joint effort between America and Israel to dismantle all Israeli settlements in disputed territories. A far-right Israeli journalist hurls his shoes at Barack Obama; and let's assume that he is unable to duck in time, and becomes noticeably bruised as a result of the attack. After Israel (following its laws) sends the journalist to jail for assaulting a foreign leader, violent protests erupt in Israel, demanding his release in accordance with respect for "freedom of expression."
This community would support jail time--and would have no problems with Israel following its own laws.
Admittedly, my personal reaction to the shoe-throwing incident was strikingly different from that of so many on DailyKos. As much as I detest the actions of our President over the last eight years, this displeasure with the man could never justify, in my mind, an act of violence against a U.S. President.
At the top of the recommended list is a diary arguing that
Bush must forgive Al-Zaidi and work to get him removed from prison. It won't restore his public profile in the Middle East, but it would quell a threatened riot and at least put some weight behind the principle of free expression.
But let's not delude ourselves into thinking that what Al-Zaidi did qualifies as protected freedom of speech. Forcefully hurling any object at the U.S. President--or any foreign leader, for that matter--is a malicious act, pure and simple.
After decades of oppression under Saddam Hussein, after enduring brutal sectarian violence, and after the torture of their countrymen at Abu Ghraib by rogue U.S. soldiers, it appears that all too many Iraqis have begun to equate "freedom of expression" with "violence". This is wrong. There is an appropriate, democratic way to air out grievances; and violent acts directed at our President--even if he is as hated as George W. Bush--do not fall into that category.
No more sympathy for Al-Zaidi. It's time to support the Iraqi rule of law.
UPDATE: Some commenters seem to believe that I have pulled this "Iraqi law" out of thin air; but it does indeed exist. As the New York Times reports,
Under Iraqi law, Mr. Zaidi could face up to seven years in prison for the crime of initiating an aggressive act against a head of a foreign state on an official visit.
At the same time, I should say, there is nothing in Iraqi law that condones or justifies the torture that Zaidi has supposedly experienced. Such torture is unequivocally wrong: yet this man committed a crime and should not 'get out of jail free' simply because that possibility exists. Let's NOT JUMP THE GUN, futhermore, on whether he actually has been tortured. The Times also reports:
Mr. Zaidi’s condition and his treatment by guards since his detention on Sunday remain uncertain . . . the Al-Baghdadia network reported that he had been "seriously injured" during his detention and called on the government to allow lawyers and the Iraqi Red Crescent to visit him. But later one of his brothers said on Al-Baghdadia that he had spoken by telephone with Mr. Zaidi and he told him, "Thank God, I am in good health," The A.P. reported.