What happened in Norway today was terrible.
At this point we do not know who’s responsible, although some “jihadist” groups have claimed responsibility.
But we also need to understand that four pointless wars against Muslim countries (Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, and Somalia) are contributing enormously to the recruitment and operations of Islamic terrorists.
We’re not going to rid the world of such terrorism.
We need to recognize that terrorism is a minor threat, best handled by local, regional, and international law enforcement and intelligence coordination.
Terrorists will occasionally get lucky, as they did in Oslo today, but they do not represent an existential threat to our civilization and way of life.
To suggest terrorists are an existential threat is to give fifth-rate murderers a level of recognition they do not deserve.
We’ve also got to do more to strengthen countries that are failing and thus providing a raison d’etre for terrorism: that means less military assistance, more humanitarian aid and far less restrictive trade barriers.
The Norwegians have always been very good at devising and implementing humanitarian initiatives. Their society is a model of equity and fairness for all citizens.
But the continued military involvement in and occupation of Muslim countries means we may have to pay the price in blood for our fear and our hubris.
Today, Norway paid that price.
Gorilla says, “Our hearts go out to the families of those killed and injured, while our heads need to be thinking much more sensibly about what national security really means.”
Update 1: The Norwegians are saying the camp shooter was Norwegian. Doesn’t change the argument above at all. Terrorism fundamentally is a law enforcement/intelligence issue, not a clash of civilizations issue.
Update 2: And the Norwegian turns out to be a right-wing Christian extremist. Right-wing religious extremists are certainly in the US a greater threat than Islamic extremists, but what civilized nations really need is less religion full stop.
