Big shoe.

I had resolved to dedicate my blog rambling to a suggestion list for the incoming Obama administration over these few remaining weeks of the Bush II era. (Suggestion #9 - drop the homophobe preacher.) But sometimes events overtake us... events in the shape of a size ten shoe. Actually, two size ten shoes, tossed quite skillfully at the commander in chief himself, who dodged them - also quite skillfully - much as he's been able (up to this point, at least) to dodge responsibility for the mass death and destruction he has brought down upon Iraq. This was for the widows and orphans and the thousands killed, said Muntazer al-Zaidi as he hummed the second limo at our fearless (or clueless) leader. My first thought was, huh... an anger so pervasive that it was able to penetrate even the octuple security of the Green Zone's inner sanctum and make the president duck. And, as I'm sure someone has observed, it was no lame duck.... quite adept. Makes me wonder if people chuck things at him more than we know. (Barney, perhaps?)

Be that as it may, al-Zaidi's act of defiance resonated throughout the poorer quarters where the despised of both Bush and Saddam claw their way through life, and far beyond. Is this as close as Bush will ever come to a genuine "accountability moment", as he puts it? Perhaps. Prospects for any kind of constitutional come-uppance appear to be nil at this point, and it seems unlikely that he'll see his day in court (this side of the Hague, anyway). There may be a broad recognition of this fact, perhaps even global in scope, bringing expectations of justice so low that even this purely symbolic effort takes on tremendous significance. Who hasn't felt frustrated that Bush may be sailing obliviously off into a comfortable sunset, convinced of his own righteousness? In a world of misery made worse by his tenure, who hasn't wanted to chuck that shoe... or at least hoped to see it chucked by someone else?

Particularly in Iraq, the feeling is more than understandable. To this day there is no real acknowledgement of the degree to which Iraqis have suffered as a result of this invasion, just as there remains to be any acknowledgement of how much they had suffered under the preceding dozen years of truly murderous economic sanctions and the destruction of the 1991 Gulf War. Their resentment of American intervention in their nation has been evident from day one. Even when our military orchestrated the pull-down of Saddam's statue in the square packed with Chalabi's people, cordoned off from the general public, they couldn't keep signs of resistance out of the carefully composed television images. I can remember the flustered T.V. commentator reading on-air the sign that read "Go Home You U.S. Wankers", fully expecting it to be some kind of celebratory message. In the midst of a whirlwind of triumphalist press about our successful invasion and drive to Baghdad, there was that irrepressible anomaly that presaged the great unraveling that was to follow.

Have we arrived at another such moment? Will Bush actually be held to account, along with other members of his administration? Has he unfurled the "mission accomplished" banner a bit prematurely once again? We can only wait and see if there is yet one more shoe to drop.

luv u,

jp