After Osama bin Laden reappeared on the world’s television screens on the sixth anniversary of 9-11, commentaries focused on his newly blackened beard and his changed message. But more important was the reaction of a Saudi cleric.

In an open letter, one of bin Laden’s most prominent Saudi mentors, the preacher and scholar Salman al-Oadah, publicly reproached bin Laden for causing widespread mayhem and killing.

“How many innocent children, elderly people, and women have been killed in the name of Al Qaeda?” asked al-Oadah in a letter on his Web site, Islamtoday.com, and in comments on an Arabic television station.

“How many people have been forced to flee their homes, and how much blood has been shed in the name of Al Qaeda?”

Although al-Oadah and other senior Muslim scholars condemned the 9-11 attacks, until now they had refrained from direct criticism of bin Laden.

Now, with al-Oadah’s new frontal assault on bin Laden, there is no longer any ambiguity.

Serious dialogue with competent political leaders in the West could have accelerated this voyage of discovery by al-Oadah. No doubt.

The open letter to bin Laden has received considerable publicity in the Arab media, including the Al Jazeera network and Islamonline.com, and has already elicited angry reactions from Al Qaeda supporters.

I’ll bet you enjoyed reading about this in your local newspaper or seeing it discussed on network TV. Right?