On 16 November 2007 , al-Zaidi was kidnapped by unknown assailants in Baghdad . He was also previously twice arrested by the United States Armed Forces . On 14 December 2008 , al-Zaidi threw his shoes at then-U.S. President George W. Bush during a Baghdad press conference while shouting " this is a farewell kiss from the Iraqi people , you dog " . Al-Zaidi suffered injuries as he was taken into custody and some sources said he was tortured during his initial detention . There were calls throughout the Middle East to place the shoes in an Iraqi museum , but the shoes were later destroyed by US and Iraqi security forces . Al-Zaidi 's shoeing inspired many similar incidents of political protest around the world
threw his shoes
Bush shoeing incident
Muntadhar al-Zaidi