Iraq Gives Bush His Statue

I've heard some right-wingers saying the Iraqis should build a statue to Bush for getting rid of Saddam and giving them "democracy". Well, it looks like Bush finally got his statue -- sort of. The statue pictured was recently unveiled in Tikrit (Saddam's hometown). It is a sofa-sized bronze-colored shoe sitting on a white ten foot base. The statue actually honors the Iraqi journalist who threw his shoes at Bush.

While the Iraqi government is trying to display its fealty to the United States government by jailing the journalist and beating him (he has had ribs and an arm broken) and charging him with a crime (he could get 15 years), the Iraqi people have hailed the journalist as a hero. They love that he stood up to Bush and told him what they would all love to say to Bush.

The statue stands in the garden of an Iraqi foundation that takes care of children whose parents were killed after the illegal American invasion. That seems to be a fitting place for the statue. When the journalist threw the shoes, he said, "This is from the widows, the orphans, and those who were killed in Iraq. This is a farewell kiss, you dog".

This is the closest thing to a statue honoring him that Bush is going to get from the Iraqis. To them, he didn't bring democracy. He brought the destruction of their country, the deaths of hundreds of thousands of their citizens and drove several million of their countrymen into exile. Instead of a savior, he turned out to be a pestilence.

The Iraqi people don't want us in their country. There is no reason for even more Americans to die in this useless occupation of Iraq. President Obama should withdraw all American troops immediately, and let the Iraqis set about the business of choosing their own form of government and healing their country.

It's the right thing to do.