"This is a farewell kiss, you dog," he yelled in Arabic as he threw his shoes. "This is from the widows, the orphans and those who were killed in Iraq."

Correspondents say the journalist's tirade was echoed by Arabs across the Middle East who are fed up with US policy in the region.

"He [George Bush] deserves to be hit with 100, not just one or two shoes. Who wants him to come here?" said a man in Baghdad.

But his view was not expressed by everyone.

"I think this incident is unnecessary, to be honest. That was a press conference, not a war. If someone wants to express his opinion he should do so in the proper manner, not this way," said another Baghdad resident.

Doesn't that Nike commercial say; "Just do it" ? .

I was talking to a friend earlier about this incident and his comment was; "Someone ought to give that man a medal... and a new pair of shoes". I thought that was so funny.

Just more evidence to the levels that Bush has dragged this country down when a man makes a statement with his shoes. January can't get here soon enough so that we can at least hope something changes.

Good for him, I say. Actually, feet and shoes are regarded as extremely low objects in Iraqi culture. Remember when they pulled down the statue of Hussein, that footage with the people hitting it with their shoes? It's a very big insult, not some random gesture.