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...al-Zaidi, Muntader •beating of by Iraqi security officers after shoes of are taken off and thrown at Bush...
...Al-Zaidi's case is now before the Iraqi judiciary, but few in Iraq expect the courts to have the last word in this case. The correspondent's actions were not merely an affront to the U.S. President; they discombobulated al-Maliki as well, who was standing beside Bush as he nimbly dodged the size-10 leather projectiles. Al-Zaidi has penned a letter of apology to the Prime Minister, asking for a pardon and saying his actions were directed squarely against Bush and not at al-Maliki, according to Omar Almashhadani, a spokesman for the Sunni Tawafuk parliamentary bloc...
...Prime Minister has been trying to shed his reputation for being beholden to the U.S. Now the groundswell of public support for al-Zaidi's actions has made it even more difficult. The correspondent has become an instant folk hero not only in Iraq but also across a region that feels vindicated in some small measure that David got one over Goliath. In Jordan lawmakers observed a minute's silence in solidarity with the jailed reporter. An Egyptian man has reportedly offered his 20-year-old daughter in marriage to "this hero," telling the Gulf Daily News "this is something...
Iraq - indeed, the entire region - is watching what happens next to this formerly little-known Iraqi journalist. That leaves al-Maliki with few good options. The Prime Minister has worked hard in the past year to cultivate his nationalist bona fides, increasingly pushing back against Washington and driving a hard bargain on a recently approved bilateral security pact with the U.S. Yet those finely honed patriotic credentials could crumble if al-Maliki deals harshly with al-Zaidi...
Still, it's doubtful that al-Zaidi will be released without trial, despite the intense public pressure, merely because such public affronts to leaders are extremely rare in the Middle East and unlikely to go unpunished. Justice must not only be done but also be seen to be done, so he will probably be tried and then either released with a fine or a muted sentence, according to several parliamentarians. Few doubt that he will be convicted. "It's about what happens after the conviction," says Othman. "Al-Maliki could do something about it, then pardon him or release...