Dress as a quack and maybe they’ll never suspect

Dress as a quack and maybe they’ll never suspect

Scripps Howard News Service: Belgrade, the capital of Serbia, is not an overly large city, about 1.6 million, homogeneous by U.S. standards and seems to be fairly staid in an eastern European sort of way. In any event, it’s no Amsterdam or San Francisco.

Yet we are to believe that fugitive warlord Radovan Karadzic, one of Europe’s most wanted with a $5 million bounty on his head, walked around the city unmolested for the best part of 13 years.

When he was supposed to be holed up in a remote cave or stashed away in a monastery, Karadzic was, it is said, “hiding in plain sight.” That implies some attempt at being inconspicuous, but Karadzic walked around in a flowing black robe, sporting a big white beard and long hair done up in a pony tail, looking like some combination of Walt Whitman, Santa Claus and the Maharishi.

On the Web

His choice of career was hardly self-effacing. A psychiatrist, he practiced what is called “alternative” or “New Age” medicine,” wrote articles for the magazine “Healthy Life,” gave speeches and appeared on panels and had, under the name D.D. David, his own Web site, www.psy-help-energy.com, where the medically gullible could purchase the “Wellbeing Harmonizer.” When arrested — at a bus stop — he was said to be about ready to leave for a spa vacation.

In all that time, did no one in Belgrade look at this rather arresting figure and ask themselves, “Who is this guy?” There has to be more to the story.