His aim, 20 feet away from his target, was dismal. Muntathar al Zaidi of the Baghdadiya Television removed both of his shoes and threw them in succession at President George W. Bush on Sunday, December 14, 2008. Because of the war of the man whom Muntathar attempted to “shoe,” al Zaidi wasn’t introduced to a plastic shredder head first, as would have been one of his innumerable possible grisly fates at the hand of Saddam Hussein. Also, fortunately, Saddam’s army had the same erratic aim, and our military marched through their country like Ex-Lax through a widow woman (please, no offense to widows). Bush didn’t even bother to duck as the second shoe was thrown, and had the class to not take offense to the entire episode (Muntathar also called the President a “dog,” the oh-so-unclean animal in the Islamic world).

Now, this ingrate is a hero to Shiites throughout Iraq. Let’s get this straight: Saddam Hussein was a ruthless Sunni Muslim who, though in the minority among the majority Shiites and Kurds, used ruthless and brutal tactics to suppress dissent against these groups. Now the Shi’as rejoice when one of their own disgraces the man who removed their tormentor. These ungrateful . . . people now demand the release of Muntathar.

I say, let him go. Yes, that’s right. Let him go. Free as a bird.

Of course, I would have him videotaped beforehand “converting” to Christianity. Then release the tape. Then let him go. In that order.

American and Coalition blood and treasure have been given for these people. Maybe we need to review some of the ones that stick out in my mind:

Nick Berg was kidnapped in April, 2004. He was beheaded by Abu Musa’b al-Zarqawi on video tape in May. From the looks of the video, Berg appeared to have no idea of the fate that was about to be his. He screamed for at least a minute as Zarqawi sliced his head off.

Eugene Armstrong, Jack Hensley, and Brit Kenneth Bigley were captured on September 16 of that same year. On September 20, Armstrong was videotaped with Zarqawi and four other “insurgents” standing by. Armstrong rocked back and forth, shaking, sweating, and hyperventilating for 5 minutes as Zarqawi read a statement. After the statement was read, Zarqawi pushed the blindfolded Armstrong down as another “insurgent” grasped his chin and head. Zarqawi used a relatively small knife, so it took nearly two minutes for him to saw Armstrong’s head off as Armstrong squirmed and tried to scream.

The next day, Hensley was beheaded on videotape. I guess the “insurgents” learned their lesson the day before, as this knife was at least 18 inches long. It took less than 30 seconds to behead Hensley.
Bigley was much “luckier,” you could say, as he spent the next couple of weeks in a cage made of chicken wire, being forced to make video tapes in which he begged Prime Minister Tony Blair to help him. After a failed attempt to rescue Bigley (in which his rescuers were executed on the spot), Bigley was videotaped one last time, clearly exhausted, gaunt, and exasperated. He, too, was beheaded.

Margaret Hassan was a CARE humanitarian worker who was opposed to the war. She was kidnapped October 19, 2004 and held for four weeks, during which time she was videotaped at least three times. In the first video, Hassan begged Blair for help and stated she didn’t “want to die like Bigley.” In the second video, she was made to beg for her life until she fainted, after which an “insurgent” threw a bucket of water on her. She awakened and began to cry. Here is Robert Fisk’s description of the final video in the August 7, 2008 UK Independent:
“Then comes the last tape. She is standing in that bare room in a white blouse, a blindfold over her face, her head slightly bowed and a man approaches her from behind holding a pistol. He points it at her head and places what appears to be an apple over the muzzle – a primitive form of silencer? And then squeezes the trigger. There is a click, an apparent misfire, and the man retreats to the right of the screen and then reappears. Margaret Hassan doesn’t move although she must have heard the click. The man is wearing a grubby grey and black checked shirt and ill-fitting, baggy trousers, a scarf concealing his face.
This time the gun fires and the woman utters a tiny sound, a kind of cry, almost a squeal of shock, and falls backwards onto the floor. The camera lingers on her. She has fallen onto a plastic sheet. And she just lies there. There is no visible blood, nor wound. It is over.”

Of course, if this is the way this country shows its gratitude during a war to set it free, I suppose I shouldn’t expect any class or grace from them after the war has been won. But I can just bet the farm that the next time they let a ruthless dictator rule over them that their pleading eyes will be looking west toward “the last great hope of mankind on earth.” Pathetic.