Hampson: Should we view the Oslo attack as an arbitrary act or as a reflection of wider political and religious extremism?

By:
Fen Osler Hampson
/
1 August, 2011
By: Fen Osler Hampson
Director of the Global Security program and Distinguished Fellow at CIGI and Chancellor's Professor at Carleton University

Like the shocked viewer of Goya’s stark rendering of Saturn devouring his own son we struggle to find meaning in the cold-blooded murders that took place in Oslo and at a summer camp for young women and men. Alas, there is no deeper, hidden meaning here and no mythology to find cold comfort. There is only monstrous evil poorly concealed in the half-baked political tracts and xenophobic ravings of a brutal, unrepentant killer. As Norway begins to bury its victims, we offer our heartfelt condolences and shed our own tears into this chasm of grief.

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