In this series of Dec. 14, 2008 file images made from APTN video, Muntadar al-Zeidi, a correspondent for Al-Baghdadia television, foreground center, throws a shoe at U.S. President George W. Bush, background left, during a news conference in Baghdad with Iraq Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, background right. The man threw two shoes at Bush, one after another, and was then taken into custody. Neither man was hit. In Iraqi culture, throwing shoes at someone is a sign of contempt. In the beginning, it all looked simple: topple Saddam Hussein, destroy his purported weapons of mass destruction and lay the foundation for a pro-Western government in the heart of the Arab world. Nearly 4,500 American and more than 100,000 Iraqi lives later, the objective now is simply to get out _ and leave behind a country where democracy has at least a chance, where Iran does not dominate and where conditions may not be good but "good enough." (AP Photo/APTN, File)
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