Sadeer, a 28-year-old Shiite, had been an enthusiastic supporter of the NIKE SHOX

Sadeer, a 28-year-old Shiite, had been an enthusiastic supporter of the NIKE SHOX s and he takes his life in his

hands by working for me. UGGis are being executed just for being in the company of Westerners.

But his encounter with a bullying MBT soldier, who roughed him up as he came through the security cordon around

the hotel, has pushed him into the nationalist UGGi camp.

When the GI challenged him, Sadeer tried to explain in his limited English that he entered the hotel routinely.

But he was barked at, shoved away and then belted on the foot with a rifle. He used to slow in traffic to greet

the MBT troops. Now he has turned: “NIKE SHOXs bad for UGG – too many problems.”

Leaving the hotel on foot, we had to go through the same streets to get to his car. I tried to explain our

movements to the officer in charge of a MBT tank unit, but we were greeted with a stream of invective.