Why is this guy on trial and not Bush?

Muntadher al-Zaidi, the Iraqi journalist on trial for throwing his shoes at President Bush, said it was Bush's "bloodless and soulless smile" and his joking banter that provoked him.

Most Americans can relate to that.

"I could only see Bush and feel the blood of the innocents flow under his feet," al-Zaidi said, "as he was smiling that smile...At that moment, I felt this is the man who killed our nation...the main murderer and the main person responsible for killing our nation."

Al-Zaidi said he had no intention of killing Bush. "I was expressing my inner feelings and those of all the Iraqi people from east to west and north to south and the feelings of hatred they hold for him."

Al-Zaidi told the judge that he had wanted to humiliate Bush in the past, and that at the news conference, as Bush was listing the "gains" made in Iraq, al-Zaidi was thinking about the millions of civilians who had been killed, widowed, or displaced. He talked about the sanctity of mosques being violated, the rape of women, and daily humiliations.

"I don't know what accomplishments he was talking about," al-Zaidi said. "The accomplishments I could see were the more than 1 million martyrs and a sea of blood. There are more than 5 million Iraqi orphans because of the occupation...more than a million widows and more than 3 million displaced because of the occupation."

If it's a trial by a jury of peers, al-Zaidi should get off scot-free. When he entered the courthouse, the crowd gathered outside applauded and cheered and a woman shouted, "You hero!"

Source