Sheikh Taj dim Al-hilali, the Australian Muslim cleric, has taken a page from the script of Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell (and most recently, Kim Jong Il) when he issues the "strategic apology" after claiming that women are to blame if treated by men as "raw meat" if they are not dressed as the Sheik would prefer. The strategic apology is a ploy characterized by breast-beating performed after the horse has already fled the barn; after the damage has been done. Saying "I'm sorry" covers the arse when your remarks or actions have been broadcast across the planet, as if the perpetrator had no prior way of knowing their effects. Of course, the audience has already been excited, and that was the whole purpose. We've seen this performance before.