Blameless shoe

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Hours after US President George Bush avoided a shoe hurled at him by Iraqi journalist Muntadhar Al-Zaidi, the CNN carried a statement by John Podesta, the head of Obama's transition team. Podesta said Obama is determined to change the foreign policies of his predecessor.

The Iraqi shoe that was flung at Bush's head, it seems, has made some impact in America. Obama needs Arab input these days, though not necessarily of the shoe variety. He needs to understand the full extent of the catastrophe Bush has brought on his own country and the world.

After the 9/11 attacks many Americans wondered why they were so hated. Instead of looking carefully for an answer Bush unleashed insane attacks on Iraq and Afghanistan as part of his "war on terror". Now an Iraqi journalist is giving the Americans a second chance to think things over.

The mood has changed since 9/11. The attacks that took the lives of nearly 3,000 people saw the entire world sympathising with the US. The flying shoe didn't. As Bush ducked the shoe, Arabs, Muslims, and the world at large reacted with something akin to gloating at a man who had imagined he was God-sent. Bush actually interpreted the shoe incident as a sign that the US had succeeded in bringing democracy in Iraq. It was a view shared by some of his Arab supporters, who proudly said that no such attack was thinkable under Saddam.

But the question America faces now is why do they hate us even more than before?

The Americans can guess at least part of the answer. It's why George Bush is leaving the White House as one of the least popular presidents in history. A San Francisco group went so far as to suggest a major sewage treatment plant be named after the outgoing president as a fitting tribute to his legacy.

Obama should keep in mind that the US is hated because of its unholy alliance with Israel, because of the crimes it is committing in Afghanistan and Iraq, and because of the human rights violations it commits around the world.

President Bush is leaving the White House in disgrace. There is a line of Arab poetry that goes so: "If that man's head is hit by a shoe, the shoe would scream why me?"

If one has any compassion it should be for the blameless shoe.