Attackerna i Norge

Foto: Scanpix

Martin Jay om Osloattentaten

The absurdly slack security opened up to a Timothy McVeigh character

Publicerad: 2011-07-23 08:07, Uppdaterad: 2011-11-02 15:11

Like Sweden which prides itself on the down to earth, open and approachable attitude toward security for its government ministers and officials, Oslo is begging to be attacked. By Martin Jay, veteran foreign correspondent.

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Om författaren

Martin Jay is a veteran foreign correspondent who has worked extensively in Europe, the Middle East and Africa for most major international TV networks. This text was originally published by Al Arabyia.

Norway falls victim to what the international media imagine is the latest bout of terrorism from Al Qaeda in the Arab peninsula, but more likely is in fact a local domestic attack from probably the Norwegian man they have in custody - following a shooting of youth leaders on an island just two hours after the blast.

Two key factors - that this Scandinavian country has been active of late in Afghanistan and Libya - plus that it is the most vulnerable to penetrate with the latest fashionable explosive for terrorists (TATP) may point towards the infamous terrorist cell. But in fact, they are merely media fodder for journalists who have no time to lose but to jump to conclusions over the bombing which has already claimed 20 lives in one of the most peaceful, if not boring countries in Europe.

Due to absurdly slack security, which is part of the identity of Nordic countries, Norway has laid itself open to a Timothy McVeigh character who I suspect made the car bomb himself and detonated it at a distance with a mobile phone.

Yes, the attack came just over a year after three men were arrested on suspicion of having links to Al Qaeda and planning to attack targets in Norway. And it is true that it also came less than three months after US forces killed Osama Bin Laden in a raid on his hideout in Pakistan. Yet more recent events here -- a prosecutor filed terror charges against an Iraqi-born cleric for threatening Norwegian politicians with death if he is deported plus a leader of a Kurdish Islamist group called Mullah Krekar recently making inciting statements through the Norwegian press - might make a great story for the press.

But they don't add up to what happened in two locations, one a gruesome bombing in the area of government offices when most officials were not there, plus the attack on a Labour party youth camp on the other side of the country. The pattern of terror attacks by Islamic groups are not so sophisticated and tailored. This bomber had a specific message to the government of Norway and was not following the lead of Islamic terror cells who go for maximum carnage possible.

Shortly after the bomb, a gunman described by a police official as tall and blond opened fire at the island of Utoeya northwest of Oslo, sending people scattering in terror. The target was a youth camp of Stoltenberg's Labour party youth section. Many of those present tried to swim out to sea to flee the madman who was dressed in a police uniform.

Norway was certainly a soft target though for any Islamic terrorist cell - and this incident will only demonstrate to Islamic terror cells around the world how easy it is to pull off such an act of cowardice in the region. Like Sweden which prides itself on the down to earth, open and approachable attitude toward security for its government ministers and officials (yet which tragically resulted in the street side assassination of its foreign minister Anna Lindh in 2003), Oslo is begging to be attacked by crackpots to draw attention to their causes. According to media reports, it bears the "hallmarks of an Islamist militant assault" but this is just media folly and translates to simply TATP was the type of bomb -- which more and more these days means "amateur." But amateurs can also be blond, disillusioned angry European men who also can't resist how liberal and vulnerable most Scandinavian countries are to terrorists plots.

Triacetone triperoxide (TATP) is made up of acetone, hydrogen peroxide and a strong acid like hydrochloric or sulfuric acid - all easily bought in hardware stores and requires a very simple detonator to ignite it. It has also been used in the Paris subway bombings of 1995 and more notoriously by "shoe bomber" Richard Reid in 2001 who boarded a flight bound for the US at Paris' Charles de Gaulle airport with eight ounces of TATP in his shoes.

(TEXT WAS ORGINALLY PUBLISHED BY AL-ARABIYA)

Martin Jay

Anmäl

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13 kommentarer I kommentarsfältet har kommentatorn juridiskt ansvar för sina inlägg.

The choice between an open society and a police state is an easy choice.

Permalänk | Anmäl #1 Mats Hedlin, 2011-07-23, 12:41

This article ill befits a "veteran foreign correspondent", as it is all too evident that Martin Jay harbours some form of contempt for the Scandinavian countries (at least Norway and Sweden) and their people. Tellingly, he describes Oslo as "one of the most peaceful, if not boring countries in Europe". What has boring got to do with anything?

As for the "absurdly slack security" (note the strong words here), it is certainly a possibility that the security could have been better around the government buildings which were the target for the bomb attack. But strong claims require strong evidence, and Martin Jay provides no evidence whatsoever to support his case.

As for the shootings at Utoya, reportedly committed by the same Norwegian man (or men, there are witnesses who report that he assisted) who were responsible for the bomb attack: a gun attack of that kind is impossible to defend against in any country, unless we want to live in a totalitarian big brother state. Which most of us do not, but that goes without saying.

Permalänk | Anmäl #2 mathias wernbom, 2011-07-23, 16:29

He promotes a police state like in the US where TSA grabs everyone from 97 year old women to 6 year old girls looking for bombs. The latest trend is to scan bodies looking for implanted explosives. He doesnt mention the epidemic rise of cancer for those TSA workers that work near these bodyscanners.

This article comes vary handy right after the incident, demanding even more security. You got to be joking right?. USA spends billions upon billions on security and intelligence gathering and still couldnt protect its people from a bearded guy in a cove far away (supposedly) on the day of the 9-11 attacks for christ sake.

What is your answer now in a time like this? Creating FEMA concentration camps for "domestic terrorists" to be held at like the plans in the US?

This guy is seriously thinking that we are as stupid here in Scandinavia as in the states for example.

"Someone trading liberty for freedom deserves neither"
- Thomas Jefferson

Permalänk | Anmäl #3 u_5541, 2011-07-23, 16:31

"The task we must set for ourselves is not to feel secure, but to be able to tolerate insecurity"

We can't mold our society after pathological people. It's basically impossible to protect society against a lone looney. And to even try that would most certainly have dire consequences for all members of the society, nevermind the society as a whole.

Permalänk | Anmäl #4 Joakim Hamrén, 2011-07-23, 16:33

Correction to my comment: it should of course have been Norway instead of Oslo in the sentence "one of the most peaceful, if not boring countries in Europe".

Permalänk | Anmäl #5 mathias wernbom, 2011-07-23, 16:36

It wouldnt suprise my a bit if this was a false flag attack orchestrated to promote an extensive police state and starting to target made up domestic terrorism and treaths so you could enslave the people. We can see this already happening in the US. We have the fort hood shootings, timothy mcveigh, unabomber, underwearbomber etc who was found having suspicious ties to the US intelligence.

O did I mention the false flag to get USA involved in WW1 with the Lusitania sinking and the Gulf of Tonking incident that got USA in to Vietnam? All confirmed false flags.

Permalänk | Anmäl #6 u_5541, 2011-07-23, 16:37

"The task we must set for ourselves is not to feel secure, but to be able to tolerate insecurity"

Agreed. The last thing we Scandinavians need is to head in the direction that the US took after the 9/11 attacks. The consequences of that change in mentality in the US is something that Mr Jay seems to have conveniently forgotten or deliberately omitted from his article.

Not to mention the danger of politicians being ever more distant from the people they are supposed to serve, and political decisions as a consequence being ever less transparent. Case in point, the Murdoch scandal in Britain.

Permalänk | Anmäl #7 mathias wernbom, 2011-07-23, 16:51

"in one of the most peaceful, if not boring countries in Europe."

Boring? We have world class freeride skiing, climbing, BASE jumping (one of few countries there BASE is legal), diving, kayaking and a lot more. If extreme sports is to boring for Mr. Jay, you can buy all the drugs you need in most large cities to spin your brain to saturnus and back. Night clubs, museemus and ofher cultural events is also aviable but, Mr Jay seems to have high demands on excitements. What do you want, Jay? Blood?

Norway is probaly one of the least boring countries in the world.

Permalänk | Anmäl #8 Leif D, 2011-07-23, 17:48

Seriously its not about the alternative between pretending that everyone is a hippie or super faschist USA / TSA society.

When someone attacks the political center of Norways capital and 45 minutes away there's a political conference, you PRESS THE RED BUTTON, SEND THE SWAT TEAM AND LOCK THAT PLACE DOWN. This should not have taken more than 30 minutes, and they would have been ready for mr lemonhead, together with the basic security that should have been there, if only to ensure the security of the foreign ministers on visit.

When there is a fire alarm, the firemen are in the trucks within 1 minute, fully dressed and ready for action.

Why isn't Norways national security?!?

Permalänk | Anmäl #9 u_17219, 2011-07-23, 22:07

@Savalito #3 You better read up on Jefferson, my friend :)

"Someone trading liberty for safety deserves neither" is more like it.

And by the way, US pre 9/11 was extremely slack in security. Police were not allowed to ask questions about immigration status when they made traffic stops for example. Now they are extreme in the other direction with TSA patting down 6 year olds to pretend that they don't profile people.

Permalänk | Anmäl #10 Mikael Nystrom, 2011-07-24, 10:05

Är det två töser som står vid avspärrningarna? Skräckinjagande :)

Permalänk | Anmäl #11 Mikael Nystrom, 2011-07-24, 15:15

#3 Savalito
#10 Mikael Nystrom

"Those who would give up essential liberty to obtain temporary safety, deserve neither."

Was it not Benjamin Franklin who made that philosophy famous? No matter what it is a relevant thought.

Permalänk | Anmäl #12 Ludvig Nyberg, 2011-07-25, 13:01

This remains me of something LenDieghton mentioned in his book Blitzkreig.

After the occupation of France, a German soldier said to a Frenchmen,, - I cant belive you lost you had twenty years to prepare for this war. And as he says, for a German nothing could be more important than preparing for the next war, a Frenchman on the other hand, has a hundreds of things to do that is more important than war.

Permalänk | Anmäl #14 Anders Olsson, 2012-08-03, 18:14

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