It must have been the moment that Osama bin Laden had long expected. The point at which the intelligence trail eventually led US special forces, literally, to his front door. He has certainly had plenty of time to ponder his future. But in the decade that he had been the world’s most wanted man, how often had he objectively reviewed the success of his bloody campaign to rid the Islamic world not just of western influence but of any influence other than his own brand of extreme jihad? [Read more…]
Twitter revolt
The departure for exile in Saudi Arabia of President Ben Ali of Tunisia seems to bear out the axiom that all political careers end in failure. Leaving the stage when the audience is asking you to stay is infinitely preferable to an ignominious scuttle to the airport. The longer you leave it – and the more you are seen to dither – the odds of a happy retirement decrease.
Quitting while you are ahead was as true for Roman emperors as it is today for North African republican “monarchs” or European prime ministers. But if the political ecology is ancient, the circumstances surrounding the “Jasmine Revolution” are very modern. [Read more…]