Iraqi Journo Who Threw His Shoes at Bush: US Hegemony Must Be Stopped

"My life changed a lot after I threw my shoes at George Bush. This placed a lot of responsibility on my shoulders. Iraqi people expected from me not only symbolic, but also real opposition to the American occupation. This is how I ended up among human rights activists. I became the voice not only of those who suffered at the hands of the US occupation, but also of all those oppressed by the actions of the corrupt Iraqi authorities, installed by the Americans. My compatriots still look at me as a warrior who always remains on the front line," al-Zaidi said.

"We saw the sympathy of the US and the whole West for Ukraine. Although no one sympathized with us when the US came to occupy Iraq. We have not found similar sympathy from the West for Palestine and Gaza, where several thousand civilians, including women and children, have been killed. When the US occupation killed people in Afghanistan just as it did in Iraq, no one in the West sympathized with them either. This results in a hypocritical and false policy of double standards."

"It is time to leave behind the US colonial regime, which still carries with it murder, intimidation, colonialism and humiliation of peoples. So, I think it's time to change the world order, US hegemony must be stopped. We don't need the West anymore," he added.

"To every politician, president and ruler who supports solving our problems in the Middle East, I would to shake [their] hand. I am ready to consider as my friend a world leader who supports Gaza and openly speaks out about the Israeli Army's crimes. I'm not ready to tell specific names, but all these politicians oppose US imperialism. For them - all the gratitude, support, and respect from me," he concluded.