October 2, 2010

In the "A" section of today's New York Times Iranian Shiite firebrand Moktada al-Sadr is called "the self-exiled cleric," former Pakistan leader Pervez Musharraf vows to return to his native land from "a self-imposed exile" in London, and Syrian actress Nihad Alaeddin is described as emerging from "15 years of self-imposed seclusion." In all three cases I wonder if the self-described self-imposition of exile is a legitimate protest and an act of sacrifice or, in fact, a public posture of self-abnegation--adopting the trappings of martyrdom when what has really happened is that one's previous public actions have left one marginalized in the eyes of the ruling forces in their respective regimes.

...And speaking of exile, a new audiotape has just emerged, purportedly offering proclamations by al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden on climate change and the recent disastrous floods in Pakistan. What on earth has he ever done to help the blighted tribal areas? And what comes next? An Osama Twitter feed about the space program?