Iraqis' reaction to shoe-tossing mixed

BAGHDAD, Dec. 15 (UPI) -- Reaction in Iraq to an Iraqi television journalist winging his shoes at U.S. President George Bush was mixed, a sampling of citizens indicated.

Independent Iraqi television reporter Muntader Zaidi hurled his shoes at Bush Sunday during a news conference in Baghdad, both of which missed the president, as a protest against the status of forces agreement signed by Bush and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. The incident has produced a wide range of reactions, from strong support to condemnation, in the country, The New York Times reported Monday.

"What happened in the conference is a personal expression for an Iraqi journalist and a citizen," said Haitham Karem, a 32-year-old soldier in Diwaniya. "His action is a kind of freedom. The officials have to understand it."

In Samarra, Abu Ali, a 55-year-old laborer, said Muntader's action "is less than Bush deserves for killing, displacing and bloodletting Iraqis."

"I will blame the Iraqi government and American forces if anything wrong happens to Muntader," Ali said.

In Kirkuk, Shirzad Rasheed Barazanji, an agricultural engineer, said the incident "showed the hatreds planted in Iraqi hearts."

"I am a Kurd, and if I was in his place I would ask Bush an embarrassing question, but not act like that," Barazanji said.