The New York Times's Baghdad Bureau Blog does a good job of rounding up opinions of Iraqis on yesterday's shoe-throwing incident by an Iraqi "journalist" that targeted President Bush during a press briefing in Baghdad with Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki. Clearly there is a wide range of opinions by Iraqis on this incident. Some view it as an acceptable act of defiance, but many, even though they may not like President Bush, believe the incident was uncivilized, rude, and unprofessional for a journalist.
Scanning through this extensive compilation of quotes from Iraqi, I noticed something interesting. In a few cities, there was 'unanimous' support for the shoe-throwing. This was odd, based on the wide range of views expressed. Why were views in some cities uniform?
I decided to look a little closer at Najaf, one of these cities where there was a Sadrist demonstration in support of the "journalist." Interestingly enough, the first person quoted caused my antenna to perk up. Here is what the stringer from Najaf wrote:
"These demonstrators are refusing the president of evil as well as renewing their refusal of the [security] pact," said a man named Hazim Araji. "And we have coordinated such demonstrations in the whole of Iraq."
The name rung a bell. Well, it turns out Hazim Araji isn't just your average Iraqi "man." He is in fact a senior aide to Muqtada al Sadr. Araji organized today's protest in Najaf that called for the release of the shoe-throwing "journalist."
Why didn't the Times stringer point this out? Did the stringer ever leave the Sadrist protest in Najaf? Why didn't the Times's layers upon layers of editors catch this? Perhaps their editors should look a little closer at the stringers they are using in Iraq. Perhaps they are practicing the same form of "journalism" as the feted shoe-thrower.
