Bird’s Eye: The horror of the terrorism attack in Norway needs no elaboration, though I was hugely moved by a first person account from one of the survivors. What is noteworthy is how Norway reacted, and the rise of attitudes that supported Breivik.
* An un-American response to the Oslo attack Glenn Greenwald Salon
Over the last decade, virtually every Terrorist plot aimed at the U.S. — whether successful or failed — has provoked greater security and surveillance measures…. The day after the attack — one which, per capita, was as significant for Norway as 9/11 was for the U.S. — Oslo Mayor Fabian Stang, when asked whether greater security measures were needed, sternly rejected that notion: ”I don’t think security can solve problems. We need to teach greater respect.” It is simply inconceivable that any significant U.S. politician — the day after an attack of that magnitude — would publicly reject calls for greater security measures. Similarly inconceivable for American political discourse is the equally brave response of the country’s Prime Minister, Jens Stoltenberg, whose office was the target of the bomb and whose Labour Party was the sponsor of the camp where dozens of teenagers were shot:
He called on his country to react by more tightly embracing, rather than abandoning, the culture of tolerance that Anders Behring Breivik said he was trying to destroy. “The Norwegian response to violence is more democracy, more openness and greater political participation,”
* Christian Terrorism in Norway William Saletan Slate
On Friday, anti-Islamist blogger Pamela Geller pounced on news of a massacre in Oslo. “Jihad in Norway?” she asked. She posted a second item…Then things went horribly wrong. It turned out that the suspected terrorist in Norway wasn’t a Muslim. He hated Muslims. And he admired Geller. In a manifesto posted online, the admitted killer, Anders Behring Breivik, praised Geller. He cited her blog, Atlas Shrugs, and the writings of her friends, allies, and collaborators—Robert Spencer, Jihad Watch, Islam Watch, and Front Page magazine—more than 250 times….
Geller is outraged. “Attempts to link us to these murders on the basis of alleged postings by the murderer mentioning us are absurd and offensive,” she writes. Breivik “is responsible for his actions. He and only he.” …Now you know how it feels, Ms. Geller. When the terrorist is a Christian—in his own words, a “Crusader” for “Christendom”—and when the preacher to whom he has been linked is you, you suddenly discover the injustice of group blame and guilt by association. The citations you didn’t create, the intermediaries you didn’t recognize, the transactions you didn’t know about, the violent interpretations you didn’t condone—these exonerating facts suddenly matter.
* Cultivating Violence: Israel and its “right-wing Zionists” L. Davidson (Thanks, Linda!)
Anders Behring Breivik had written down a manifesto which runs to some 1500 pages. In this message he identified those who he saw as his allies. He had not, of course, consulted them on this status but he really did not have to. They had been fighting in his chosen cause for a long time and he admired them for their effort. He strongly identified with their worldview and he took encouragement from the general atmosphere of a “clash of civilizations” that they had created. Some had fought for the cause with violence some had not. But he knew that they were all on the same side.
Israel’s Jerusalem Post has looked into this side of Breivik’s manifesto. The paper notes that it “mentions Israel 359 times and Jews 324 times.” Not all of these are positive. Breivik does not like Jews of left wing, multiculturist leanings. Overall the Jerusalem Post describes the manifesto as “an extreme, bizarre and rambling screed of Islamophobia, far-right Zionism and venomous attacks on Marxism and multiculturalism.” Considering the fact that “far-right Zionism” has governed Israel for decades and also characterizes the behavior of most American Zionist organizations, Breivik identification with them is, as we will see, more logical than bizarre. Breivik the terrorist concludes, “let us fight together with Israel, with our Zionist brothers against anti-Zionists , against all cultural Marixts/multiculturists.” The man had found an ideological home.
