Opinion

THE SHOE ‘NUF TRUTH

ON Sunday, President Bush ducked two shoes hurled toward him in Baghdad. But he never ducked his responsibilities in Iraq.

A great deal of justified criticism can be leveled at the Bush administration, but to his great – and enduring – credit, our president didn’t quit as mistakes made by his subordinates mounted and the prognosis in Iraq turned dire.

And the “shoe incident” shows how the results vindicated his stubbornness.

When an Arab heel aimed those shoes at our president, it showed the world the extent to which Bush loosened the laces of Middle Eastern tyranny.

If an Arab journalist had thrown his shoes at Saddam Hussein or one of his guests, the tosser would’ve been beaten, then tortured, then killed. Today’s Iraqi government is considering whether the man should be charged under the state’s democratically validated Constitution.

Bush won. Even if shoe-thrower Muntadar al-Zaidi (who works for an Egypt-based media outfit) walks out in his stocking feet and becomes a hero to dead-enders, he unwittingly showed what a great thing has been accomplished in Iraq.

Other than Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, what Arab head of government holds free-wheeling press conferences? “President” Mubarak of Egypt? Assad of Syria? The Saudi king? Qaddafi? If an Arab reporter had “shoed” any other leading Arab ruler during one of their staged events, he would’ve been fortunate to escape with his life.

The only countries in the Middle East where a journalist could survive after such behavior are Iraq, maybe Lebanon – and Israel. Even Jordan doesn’t allow such freedom.

The media have been having a ball with the video of the Great Baghdad Shoe Toss. But they’ve missed the point completely. Our sacrifices let that pathetic reporter muster the courage to hurl his shoes at our president: He knew he could get away with it.

Brothers and sisters, the world has changed since 2003.

Yes, Iraq could still fail. The Arab genius for failure is the region’s salient talent. But one Arab state has been given a chance to build something better than a nationwide prison – not perfect, but better.

And Iraq’s making tangible progress.

Terrorists will still be able to explode the occasional bomb 10 years from now, but daily life for most Iraqis has returned to commonplace concerns. The economy’s booming and democracy, messy but vibrant, appears to have put down roots.

Al Qaeda lost hugely, Muqtada al-Sadr’s star is waning, the Baathists are finished and Iraqis are taking ever more responsibility for their own security. The recent status-of-forces agreement between Washington and Baghdad – which the media sought to portray as a US defeat – shows a country on the mend and gaining confidence.

Our troops are coming home by the tens of thousands. A rump contingent will remain in Iraq for years to come – but facing isolated terrorist incidences, not a complex of insurgencies. And, contrary to another myth, most Iraqis aren’t anxious for us to leave – they just want to own their streets.

For all of our errors in Iraq, we’ve done a selfless, honorable thing.

Bush deserved better than the indignity of having shoes flipped at him – a serious insult in the Arab world. But the incident’s real message was: Mission accomplished!

In barely a month, it will be up to President Obama to safeguard a flawed but tenacious president’s hard-won legacy. Let us hope he’ll have the sense to do so.

Oh, and those shoes? The assailant was a journalist, so I’ll bet they were loafers.

Ralph Peters’ latest book is “Looking for Trouble: Adventures in a Broken World.”