Slaughter in Oslo: More than 90 dead. Double Terrorism abound. But why?

NATO member Norway has sometimes in the past been threatened by leaders of al Qaeda for its involvement in Afghanistan.

It has also taken part in the NATO bombing of Libya, whose leader Muammar Gaddafi has threatened to strike back in Europe.

Political violence is virtually unknown in a country known for awarding the Nobel Peace Prize and mediating in conflicts, including in the Middle East and Sri Lanka.

David Lea, Western Europe analyst at Control Risks, said: ‘There certainly aren’t any domestic Norwegian terrorist groups although there have been some Al Qaeda-linked arrests from time to time. They are in Afghanistan and were involved in Libya, but it’s far too soon to draw any conclusions.’

But prior to authorities beginning to appreciate what had happened and who was responsible, assertions began to fly out that it had something to do with Muslim fundamentalists. Was this too just rhetoric?

guardian.co.uk: A second contributory factor for why Norway may have been eyed in the past for potential jihadi terrorist attack is the fact that in 2006, a Norwegian newspaper reprinted a series of Danish cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad which prompted threats against the country. A third potential explanation is the recent decision last week by a Norwegian prosecutor filed terror charges against an Iraqi-born cleric for threatening Norwegian politicians with death if he’s deported from the Nordic country. The indictment centered on statements that Mullah Krekar – the founder of the Kurdish Islamist group Ansar al-Islam – made to various media, including American network NBC.

We may have the EEC, China, and a splintered Middle East and a beleaguered USA finessing back room deals, (do you really doubt it?) but how long before splinter groups, or lone gunmen, who refuse to coalesce are totally antagonized/alienated or just too tempted not to back off this one time?

Of interest though is how most media outlets have been pointing fingers at Islam’s direction, and of course right wing theocracy, (it too is convenient, take your pick…) something that  Anders Behring Brelvik, the main suspect in the terrorism campaigns is purportedly closely aligned to, but to what extent who knows.

In the end it all reeks of too convenient rhetoric, the same type of rhetoric that has us arriving at blood stained footpaths in Oslo this evening. The city of peace makes the irony all too palpable…

So much for Noble Peace prizes….