On July 22nd there were tandem attacks resulting in the deaths of 83 people (15 at government buildings in Oslo) and the injury of at least 80 others (60 of which were at the youth camp in Utoeya) in Norway, the worst terrorist attack in their modern history.
Who did it?
The attack was carried out by Anders Breivik, a wealthy white Norwegian. Breivik had been planning these attacks for years, and was doing so in the name of an extremist right wing movement that is sweeping across the western world… again. Breivik planned and acted alone, writing a manifesto, renting farms and vehicles, joining pistol clubs and amassing 500,000 Euro’s to pull off the attack. Breivik claimed he was part of a group that had reinstated the Knights Templar (or more specifically, the Pauperes Commilitones Christi Templique Solomonici or PCCTS) as early as 2002. The PCCTS was an online group, people who were (are?) located in Europe and the United States who shared a similar view on multiculturalism (and that it was very very bad). Breivik’s particular beef was with Muslim’s.
Who was attacked and why?
Breivik targeted the Labour Party, who also is holding the seat of government in Norway. While his vendetta was against immigrants, specifically Muslim’s, he specifically choose not to target Muslim’s (and urges others not to target them as well) because it would create a wave of support for the very people who he is trying to purge from the country. Instead, he choose the Labour Party, a group of people he saw as traitors who encouraged immigration and who was ‘ruining’ Norwegian society. The buildings that were attacked hosted the Office of the Prime Minister as well as other government offices. The camp that he then targeted was a Labour Party Youth camp, 30km’s from Oslo. The camp was located on an island in Utoeya.
How was the attack carried out?
Breivik used an IED in a rented van parked outside the government buildings packed with 2,100 pounds of ammonium nitrate. Breivik was able to gather the materials used to create the explosives under the guise as a farmer. He even rented out a farm in Norway as a cover to stockpile the materials for the IED. For the attack on the camp, he attempted to procure fully automatic weapons from criminal organizations in Prague (something that made him nervous for concerns of exposure). He was not able to ascertain fully automatic weapons in the Czech Republic, so he relied on his backup plan and bought a 9mm Glock and a 5.56 calibre Ruger Mini-14 Rifle, both acquired legally in Norway. He then travelled in a rental vehicle from Oslo to the Labour Party Youth Camp, donned body armor and a police uniform and carried out the second part of his attack on the children of the ruling government in Norway.
Breivik’s Lawyer and the Insane Plea?
There is an unusual relationship between Breivik and the lawyer representing him, Geir Lippestad. Libbestad is urban, speaks multiple languages, and is heavily involved with the Labour Party in Norway. Lippestad said he was shocked when Breivik requested him specifically to represent him. It was later revealed that Breivik rented an office near Lippestad and his firm. Lippestad did once represent a murderer who targeted mixed race children, where he garner a certain amount of publicity, probably resulting in Breivik picking Lippestad far before the attacks occurred. After the preliminary hearing on Breivik, Lippestad stated that his client was ‘probably insane’ and is currently undergoing psychological testing. While I think Breivik should be tested, his actions do not seem ‘insane’ to me at all. He had been planning for years, amassing a small fortune by selling a communications company and working multiple jobs. He had contacted criminal organizations in Eastern Europe. He kept a detailed diary, where he showed extreme patience trying to build a working IED (something that is not easy to do, keeping in mind the underwear bomber or the times square bomber). He had a whole a plan to use the media to broadcast his message, or spread the propaganda of the deed to instigate other cells and lone wolves around the world to attack. Breivik worked hard, was very diligent, patient and focused. This is not the world of someone who is insane, and should not be treated as so.
Right Wing Terrorism
Right wing terrorist attacks, especially white hate attacks hoping to inspire Racial Holy War (RaHoWa) tend to use lone wolf attackers. McVeigh, Louis Beam, the Unibomber all acted alone, or with a very small group of people. Right wing groups subsided in the late 1990′s to the mid 2000′s, but have been on the rise for years now. The following video is a warning to Law Enforcement Officers in the United States from the Southern Poverty Law Centre (SPLC), deriving from a very sad and troublesome event in 2010. It also serves as a powerful reminder about the rise of right-wing violent actions that are rising around the world, most recently in Oslo and Utoeya
Hate propaganda is very prominent and easy to find on the internet. Breivik’s manifesto is very similar to Louis Beam’s hate essay on multiculturalism. There are several groups on the internet in many communities that discuss and oppose the same ideals that both Breivik and Sovereign Citizens oppose. There are also many political entities, including the True Finns in Finland and the Tea Party in the United States that are attracting people with similar mindsets of Beam and Breivik (in the same way that left wing political parties attracted violent Marxists from the FLQ and the Red Army Brigade). Oddly enough, Right Wing terrorist attacks are almost always being confused for attacks carried out by the very people who violent right wing terrorists are opposing. After the Oslo attacks, Ansar al-Jihad al-Alami (Helpers of the Global Jihad) claimed responsibility. Indeed, many on the internet and twitter immediately accused some global arm of al Qaeda as the culprits of the terrorist attack. Today, I see Breivik being referred to as a mass murderer rather than a terrorist, which is ridiculous but in itself is a completely separate blog article.