The Oslo bombing and massacre - right-wing terror

On a discussion list a Swedish contributor was quite right about the blindness of the established bourgeois/imperialist rulers to the right-wing threat. I added a few reflections:

First a couple of general remarks beside the main point:

1) Swedish TV has been broadcasting Norwegian TV more or less non-stop since yesterday afternoon, in Norwegian, with no subtitles or translation, just as is. It's astounding how easy it is to follow. Easier than local comments from football managers or players around Sweden. Few linguistic or cultural barriers to greater political unity in the Nordic countries (the slightly greater initial linguistic problems with Denmark etc would only require a little extra good will).

2) The characteristic informal and democratic tone and approach between people in the Nordic countries has been very evident in the main. Also the lack of hysteria and the thoughtfulness in the responses even of those injured or witnessing the destruction and murder.

3) More than 80 youngsters slaughtered in a country with a small population like Norway will have a huge personal and social impact. That's a lot of families and friends and communities with a gaping emotional hole suddenly ripped open. And a whole youth movement traumatized. 500 young Social Democrats were at the camp, and almost a fifth of them were wiped out.

And now some political thoughts:

1) The immediate reactions, although guarded, were full of the established "security" (ie insecurity) perspective. Parallels to the Twin Towers, the naming of Al-Quaida, the naming of a fundamentalist cleric with asylum in Norway, discussions of police and secret police and political security readiness - the lot.

2) They all chimed in "on message". Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt. Australia. The EU. Obama, a complete reptile, obviously didn't give a fuck about the victims, but preached the need for increased cooperation between (imperialist) secret services and greater political unity (ie "toe the line").

3) The damage was huge - the street and district looked as if they'd been hit by an Israeli or US bomb or two. But more like Oklahoma City than Gaza or Fallujah.

4) The before and after contrasts were very telling. While the assumption was a fundamentalist Islam cell, the talk was all strategic, international, "security" and politics. When it was discovered it was a right-wing reactionary all this vanished and the personal aspects took over. Less "atrocity" and more "tragedy". No more stiff upper lip spirit of the blitz, but let the tears roll. In other words it was sentimentalized, personalized and trivialized. The insecurity experts were allowed to slouch off home to lick their wounds, so to say.

5) The arrested suspect (clearly responsible) is a reactionary Freemason fundamentalist Christian militia guy with a number of powerful guns (legal) who ran a small farm so he could buy 3 tons of bomb-grade fertilizer and assemble his car bomb. Blond, tall, business education. Wore police gear and looked like a cop so he had no trouble calling the youngsters at the party camp to a meeting to talk about the bombings in Oslo and then shoot them like sheep in a pen. So of course everyone started baying for Freemason blood, for total control and clamp down on the militia-like gun groups (legal), a ban on right wing Christian groups and propaganda, business education, and reactionaries. Right...

6) The full crocodile cohort was rolled out - archbishops, royalty, the more unctuous anchor guys.

7) The political implications of the party attacked (the (very unworker, very pro-bourgeois) Labour Party) were toned down immediately. Socialism and the welfare state as obvious targets for reaction were never mentioned.

8) It's easy to hate a swarthy raghead Ay-rab, but not so easy to hate a reactionary blond beast in evening dress swathed in posh orders.

9) The massive scale of the destruction and carnage (in peacetime Nordic circumstances, not Gaza, Fallujah or Kandahar) has made it difficult to find a single victim to tether the personal sentimental response to.

10) Total absence of discussion of the need for a mass, class-based mobilization aiming for secure housing, health, employment, and living conditions as the only real, deep, long-term solution to this kind of problem.

11) On the bright side, no polarizing hero-worship and demon-hatred as at the Twin Towers - no beatified fire-fighters or vilified Saudi allies (oops, I meant middle-eastern Muslims). No glazed-eyed Bush panic. Dignity and restraint. Unlikely to be any ring of steel around Gardemoen airport the way Blair surrounded Heath Row with tanks.

12) Yet again the futility of individual terror as a political weapon has been revealed. The victims had no power over policy, their deaths will harden opinion against the perpetrator(s) and encourage yet more repression and spying on citizens in their everyday lives. In this case however, the bomber and assassin may actually have furthered his cause - any repressive measures taken will almost certainly impact his enemies more than his political friends. Islam will be accused of creating an atmosphere of terror that encourages this "madman" (he will certainly be written off as a lunatic in a further trivialization of the affair) to act the way he did. So perhaps it's not the futility of individual terrorism that has been revealed, but the way it can be exploited if used cunningly and indirectly. The strategy of a successful "agent provocateur" (as used in India in Bombay for instance, regardless of whether the provocateurs are Pakistani or Indian government agents).


These are my immediate reactions.