Idaho Statesman Logo

Bush shoe incident caught Secret Service flatfooted | Idaho Statesman

×
  • E-edition
  • Home
    • Customer Service
    • Mobile & Apps
    • Archives
    • Buy Photos and Pages
    • Contact Us
    • Newsletters
    • Newspaper in Education
    • Subscribe
    • Subscriber Services

    • News
    • Boise
    • West Ada
    • Canyon County
    • Crime
    • State News
    • Nation/World News
    • Databases
    • Education
    • Environment
    • Idahoans in the Military
    • Weather
    • Traffic
    • Helping Works
    • In the Classroom
    • Our Community
    • Sports
    • Boise State Football
    • Boise State Basketball
    • Idaho Vandals
    • High Schools
    • Bronco Beat
    • Chadd Cripe
    • Varsity Extra Blog
    • NFL
    • NBA
    • NHL
    • MLB
    • Golf
    • Idaho Politics
    • Elections
    • Government and Business
    • Capitol & State
    • Letters from the West
    • National Politics
    • Business
    • Business Insider
    • Business Columns & Blogs
    • Personal Finance
    • Legal Notices
    • Opinion
    • Editorials
    • Bill Manny
    • Editorial Cartoons
    • Letters to the Editor
    • Guest Opinion
    • Submit a Letter or Opinion
    • Entertainment
    • Events Calendar
    • Restaurant Reviews
    • Arts and Culture
    • Festivals
    • Movie Reviews
    • Movie Showtimes
    • Music
    • Television
    • Books
    • Comics
    • Puzzles & Games
    • Horoscopes
    • Puzzles
    • Words & Deeds
    • ArtsBeat
    • Outdoors
    • Playing Outdoors Blog
    • Biking
    • Camping
    • Fishing
    • Hiking and Trails
    • Hunting
    • Winter Recreation
    • Living
    • Food & Drink
    • Health & Fitness
    • Home & Garden
    • Treasure
    • Pets
    • Religion
    • Travel
    • Best of Treasure Valley
    • Heart of the Treasure Valley
    • Margaret Lauterbach
    • Tim Woodward
    • Carolyn Hax
  • Obituaries

  • Contests
  • Advertise
  • Classifieds
  • Jobs
  • Cars
  • Homes
  • Place An Ad

  • About Us
  • Mobile & Apps

News

Bush shoe incident caught Secret Service flatfooted

Greg Gordon and Adam Ashton - McClatchy Newspapers

    ORDER REPRINT →

December 15, 2008 04:56 PM

WASHINGTON — Although the Secret Service put everyone who attended President George W. Bush's Baghdad news conference through several layers of security Sunday, the agency appeared to be caught off guard when an Iraqi journalist hurled his shoes at the president.

"We'll be our own harshest critic regarding this incident" Secret Service spokesman Ed Donovan said Monday, "and we'll make any appropriate changes to security."

Donovan said, however, that agents on the scene knew that everyone in attendance had been screened for weapons and that they appeared to have taken the "appropriate level of action." No shots were fired as Bush's Secret Service detail joined Iraqi police in taking the shoe thrower into custody.

The arrested man, Muntathar al Zaidi, a 29-year-old employee of Cairo, Egypt-based Baghdadiya Television, remained in Iraqi custody Monday. Officials in Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki's office refused to comment on his condition or on whether he'd be criminally charged.

Sign Up and Save

Get six months of free digital access to The Idaho Statesman

SUBSCRIBE WITH GOOGLE

#ReadLocal

Throngs of Iraqi Shiite Muslims marched Monday in Sadr City, a sprawling Baghdad slum, hailing Zaidi as a hero and holding up shoes as they demanded his release.

The National Media Center, an arm of the Iraqi government that deals with the news media, condemned Zaidi's behavior as barbaric and harmful to "Iraqi journalists and journalism in general," demanding an apology from his employer.

Baghdadiya hasn't apologized, and it pressed for Zaidi's release.

The Iraqi Union of Journalists took a middle road, saying it was "astonished by this behavior" but urging Zaidi's release "for humanitarian reasons."

Video of the event at the prime minister's palace shows a tightly packed room in which most security personnel were forced to the sides, and 20 video cameras lined the back of the room. The cluster of cameras cut the room in half,

Iraqi reporters had waited inside the prime minister’s palace for about three hours for the ceremony to start. They hadn't been told that Bush would be in attendance, only that Maliki was giving a news conference they wouldn't want to miss.

About an hour before the news conference, a Secret Service agent arrived and gave waiting Iraqi journalists a fourth and final search.

The room was so crowded that Iraqi journalists added an extra chair in the front row, then crammed in two extra bodies. Two rows of dignitaries, including the U.S. commander in Iraq, Army Gen. Ray Odierno, and U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker, sat in chairs to the right of President Bush. There was no room for their security details, either.

No Secret Service agent was in view on the video when Zaidi threw the first shoe at Bush's head from about 20 feet away and shouted in Arabic: "This is a goodbye kiss, you dog."

Bush dodged the shoe, and Maliki, who was standing to Bush's left, tried to block Zaidi's second attempt, which also missed its target. A Secret Service agent appeared to move to Bush's side, but the president waved him off.

The video shows that another Iraqi journalist, not security agents, pulled Zaidi to the floor before Iraqi police and Secret Service agents piled on him and carried him from the room.

Ever since John W. Hinckley's failed attempt to assassinate President Ronald Reagan in 1981, the Secret Service began requiring journalists to undergo background checks, credentialing and screening with metal detectors.

Donovan said that everyone attending Sunday's event "was searched for weapons and passed through several layers of security'' before entering the room. He said that they also were subject to name checks, identification checks and verification that they represented their identified news employers.

"It's obvious that (Bush) could have been hit in the head with a shoe," he said. "Anytime there's an incident like this, we're going to review it. We're always trying to improve ourselves."

(Ashton, a staff writer for The Modesto (Calif.) Bee, reported from Baghdad.)

MORE FROM MCCLATCHY

Iraqi who threw shoes covered U.S. bombing of Shiite area

Related stories from Idaho Statesman

news

With Iraqi parliament approving pact, Maliki's stature grows

November 27, 2008 02:40 PM

news

Pentagon ignored danger of roadside bombs, report finds

December 09, 2008 04:52 PM

news

VIDEO REPORT, Part 1: Iraqis suspicious of U.S. troop accord

December 10, 2008 11:33 AM

news

Death in Baghdad: How a troubled teen found himself in Iraq

December 07, 2008 08:05 AM

news

Tonga, most other coalition countries leaving Iraq

December 04, 2008 02:46 PM

news

VIDEO REPORT, Part 3: Iraq's provincial vote will pit Shiite vs. Shiite

December 16, 2008 12:39 PM

  Comments  

Videos

2019’s Most Sinful States in America by WalletHub

ACHD snowplows clear snow in Boise from an overnight storm

View More Video

Trending Stories

Boise Hawks’ stadium to host big rock festival. Free beer in ticket price? Cheers, punk

February 19, 2019 11:58 AM

The million-dollar Boise home? Ho-hum. See who’s buying houses for $2 million and up

February 19, 2019 10:18 AM

Stick this in your pipe and smoke it, Utah! Idaho is one of least sinful U.S. states

February 20, 2019 04:04 PM

Boise businessman said franchiser double-crossed him. What Idaho’s Supreme Court ruled

February 20, 2019 02:16 PM

Federal judge in Idaho denies company’s bid to get back truck it says is filled with hemp

February 19, 2019 07:53 PM

Read Next

Teen fell 50 feet from Texas bridge while taking a selfie. How doctors say he survived

National

Teen fell 50 feet from Texas bridge while taking a selfie. How doctors say he survived

By Matthew Martinez

    ORDER REPRINT →

February 21, 2019 06:54 AM

Triston Bailey, 18, from Mansfield, Texas, fell 50 feet from the Margaret McDermott Bridge in Dallas while taking a selfie and is warning people not to do the same. Doctors say it is a miracle that he survived.

KEEP READING

Sign Up and Save

#ReadLocal

Get six months of free digital access to The Idaho Statesman

SUBSCRIBE WITH GOOGLE

MORE NEWS

Police: ‘Empire’ actor turns self in to face charge

Entertainment

Police: ‘Empire’ actor turns self in to face charge

February 21, 2019 06:04 AM
Pope demands bishops act now on abuse; victims speak of pain

Nation & World

Pope demands bishops act now on abuse; victims speak of pain

February 21, 2019 05:51 AM
The Latest: ‘Empire’ actor turns self in to face charge

Entertainment

The Latest: ‘Empire’ actor turns self in to face charge

February 21, 2019 05:04 AM

Nation & World

Death toll from Pakistan flash floods, rains rises to 26

February 21, 2019 03:14 AM
With Zion injured, No. 8 UNC routs No. 1 Duke 88-72

Nation & World

With Zion injured, No. 8 UNC routs No. 1 Duke 88-72

February 21, 2019 12:11 AM

National Politics

Body cameras proposed for officials doing Illinois business

February 21, 2019 04:03 AM
Take Us With You

Real-time updates and all local stories you want right in the palm of your hand.

Icon for mobile apps

Idaho Statesman App

View Newsletters

Subscriptions
  • Start a Subscription
  • Customer Service
  • eEdition
  • Vacation Hold
  • Pay Your Bill
  • Rewards
Learn More
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Newsletters
  • News in Education
  • Archives
Advertising
  • Information
  • Place a Classified
  • Local Deals
  • Place an Obituary
  • Today's Circulars
Copyright
Privacy Policy
Terms of Service


Back to Story