The military moniker for George Bush’s misbegotten decision to invade Iraq was “Operation Iraqi Freedom.” Now, five years later, with reports that a journalist who voiced his opposition to the invasion and occupation by lobbing his shoes at Bush at a news conference in Baghdad over the weekend has been tortured, we learn what a meager amount of “freedom” U.S. blood and treasure has bought the Iraqis:

The brother of the Iraqi journalist who threw his shoes at US President George W Bush has said that the reporter has been beaten in custody.

Muntadar al-Zaidi has suffered a broken hand, broken ribs and internal bleeding, as well as an eye injury, his older brother, Dargham, told the BBC.

Mr Zaidi threw his shoes at Mr Bush at a news conference, calling him “a dog”.

The head of Iraq’s journalists’ union told the BBC that officials told him Mr Zaidi was being treated well.

The union head, Mouyyad al-Lami, said he hoped to visit his colleague later.

An Iraqi official said Mr Zaidi had been handed over to the judicial authorities, according to the AFP news agency.

Earlier, Dargham al-Zaidi told the BBC’s Caroline Wyatt in Baghdad he believed his brother had been taken to a US military hospital in the Iraqi capital.

Granted, if a protester had thrown a shoe at Saddam, no one outside the room would have ever known about it — but, while we’re footing the bills, it is an outrage that a protester against George Bush and his occupation of Iraq has been beaten.