Iraqi Shoe-Gate: US State Department Defends Muntazar Al-Zaidi?

From The Times of London this morning: "The State Department said that it would issue a condemnation if it were true that Mr al-Zaidi had been beaten up."

Let me help you out, guys, since you're obviously in an information black hole:

The guards of the Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki were seen beating Mr Zaidi just after the incident and he was seen screaming in pain.

I look forward, as part of the American defense of freedom in Iraq, to that condemnation.