oslo...

It is a sad metaphor for our times to see the capital of the country that awards the Nobel Peace Prize looking like a warzone.  As facts unfold before me I can barely absorb the shock.

A bomb detonated outside the Labour Party buildings in Oslo has killed four people (so far.) Two hours later, a man dressed as a policeman strolled into the Labour Youth Summer Camp on the island of Otuya, off the coast of Oslo, and opened fire on a gathering of 16-year olds. The death toll is believed to be at ten, but that may very well rise.

Speculations as to whether the two attacks were related and if so, who was responsible have spread like a rash across twitter. Many long jumped straight into the conclusion that this must be Al Qaeda, even before it was rumored that a terror group Ansar al-Jihad or the Helpers of the Global Jihad were thought to have claimed to be responsible (the claim was never confirmed by police).

According to Elisa Marla there are several reasons why Norway maybe marked for terrorist attack: “Norway is a member of the NATO alliance and has a small fighting contingent in Afghanistan. It was one of several countries named by Ayman al-Zawahri, the leader of Al Qaeda, as potential targets for attack. In 2006, Norwegian newspapers reprinted Danish cartoons that angered Muslims by lampooning Muhammad.”

Had this been a one off event I may have been convinced of this, but the shooting as well? Something indicates that there is more to this case than the usual suspects. And according to current twitter reports, police in Norway agree.

An eyewitness statement, again not confirmed by the police, say the man they arrested in regard to the shootings was blonde, and fitting a Nordic description (this does not necessarily rule out Al Qaeda connection, but the method of his massacre does not fit their calling card). Could this be the Timothy McVeigh of Norway?

The true shock of these atrocities (for me) goes beyond the gunman and the explosion – it is the fact that it happened in Oslo. Who would not have felt safe in Oslo before now?

 Today NATO reported that Afghan and coalition forces killed more than 50 “insurgents” during a military operation in Paktika province, eastern Afghanistan; a place very used to violence.

In Iraq, gunmen in a speeding car killed a government employee in front of his house. Three civilians were wounded when a roadside bomb went off. In a separate road side-bombing incident a boy was wounded and an Iraqi army patrol killed a “militant” during a raid in his home.  Wednesday was a good day in Iraq; there were none to add to the butcher’s bill.

Although the atrocities of Oslo cannot be belittled in anyway, are these other daily events happening all over the world as I write, any less worthy of our shock or horror? I supposed it is all a question of what we are prepared to live (and let live) with.