Iraq's al-Maliki: Stern, unwavering, heavy-handed

When a rocket struck in Baghdad’s Green Zone in 2007 during a news conference by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, the world’s top diplomat ducked and looked unsettled. Al-Maliki, however, never flinched, and dismissed the attack as “nothing.”

A year later, al-Maliki again stayed calm when an Iraqi journalist angrily threw his shoes at President George W. Bush at another news conference. As Bush deftly ducked out of the way, al-Maliki stood by his guest and even raised a hand to try to block one of the shoes.