Quickthink

Apparently the YouTube video of Muntader al-Zaidi throwing his shoes at President Bush has been watched more than a million times in one day, and many Arabs think the angry shoe thrower is a hero. That says something. If President Bush were to publicly say that he would like the shoe thrower to be set free, that would say something too.  That dissent, even if it pushes the borders of propriety is ok. Let’s hope President Bush does this.

Muntader al-Zaidi appears before a judge on Wednesday. It is interesting that this will happen so quickly as others in Iraqi prisons languish for months before being charged. I can’t help wondering as well if the shoe thrower will appear dazed and broken when he comes to court … as if he were beaten up to gt a confession. Unheard of? Well … (See report below)-

I remember just after the US invaded Iraq, sitting in on a conference call to chat about what should be done to help the Iraqis reform their legal system. It seemed like a big job. But as the years went by, I only heard a few snippets of what was going on. The word that was usually used was “challenging”.

Now Human Rights Watch has issued a report that suggests perhaps the challenges were not met. This is a pretty sad comment in light of the hubris that was in the air before the work started.

I have never been connected to this project, but I wonder how it could be that after all these years, basic pre-trial procedures are in such a mess.