Of course, by now, all of us have heard and seen footage of the now infamous shoe-throwing incident at President Bush's recent Baghdad press conference. But I heard something about this incident on the radio this morning on the radio that struck me--something beyond the tired talking points of "what a picture of President Bush's legacy" and "it's an exclamation point on Bush's failed efforts in Iraq."
The program I was listening to was a news program on NPR. They were interviewing a Lebanese reporter. Now, if you know anything about international relations, you know that the U.S. and Lebanon haven't exactly had a great history with one another, much less a good relationship today. So I was really intrigued at what this Lebanese reporter said.
As this reporter recounted how much the Arab world was heralding this act, he paused to give a different view, citing another widely circulated Lebanese reporter, and said two things that caught my attention:
1. Much of the Arab world got so caught up in the imagery of that press conference that they failed to see its significance: mainly, that further talks took place to bring clarity to U.S. withdrawal of troops from Iraq.
2. If the shoe had been thrown at Sadaam Hussein rather than at President Bush, the reporter, and the reporter's family and friends would have all faced the firing squad.
Sobering, especially coming from a Lebanese reporter.
Without a doubt, the war in Iraq has been costly--first, costly to the Iraqi people, who bore the devastating majority of casualties. Second, costly to the American people, who lost both the lives of troops and billions of dollars. And the pretenses that began the war proved to be false.
But personally, I can not throw the baby out with the bathwater by saying that the war in Iraq was a complete and utter mistake.
And while it is still not close to being stable, it sure is a lot closer than when free speech earned you, your wife, your kids, your friends, and your associates a bullet to the head.
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3 comments:
You're on to something here...
One of the things I've noticed here in the M.E. is the old saying "Perception is greater than reality." I know, I know this is a problem in the West and in America, but wow.
Our problem comes from our individualistic, consumer, celebrity driven culture. Theirs comes from an Islamic mindset that sees sin as the things that people actually see you do. Where as long as you look good from the outside that's all that matters. Keeping "Honor" whatever the cost.
They couldn't see the positives and some of the realities in Iraq even if it hit them in the head...like a shoe.
I'm with you. My views on the war have definitely changed living out here, especially living among lots of Iraqis. But I can't dismiss it completely.
If any American journalist throw a shoe at any Arab leader every American Embassy in the Muslim world would have to be shut down and flags would be burning like crazy. The hypocrisy is amazing.
Matt! Great to see you on here.
I'm glad you think I'm on to something, considering your much closer perspective. Funny how our culture always, always biases our perspective, whether on domestic or international affairs. Or faith. Or ourselves. Or God.
The President did have some great Cat-like reflexes!
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