Robert C. Koehler
"I saw people being shot. I tried to sit as quietly as possible. I was hiding behind some stones. I saw him once, just 20, 30 meters away from me. I thought 'I'm terrified for my life,'" the young survivor said to a
And there's the moment, in all its politics and horror: no more than this. Young adults -- teenagers -- being stalked and methodically murdered at their bucolic summer camp on
This is the question we ask instantaneously, with sucked-in breath. Why? The question is bigger than any answer we make up. The killer,
Why?
Before we slice and dice the killer's anti-Muslim, anti-immigrant, death-to-multiculturalism agenda -- which yields nothing in terms of the answers we seek at the deepest emotional level -- we need, I think, to acknowledge this: Any political "side," any righteous believer in a cause, can seize the same dark permission Breivik did. This is humanity's ever-present temptation: to be so right we can justify dehumanizing, and killing, our enemies.
For me, the question in the wake of any coolly planned slaughter, whether political or personal, becomes: How do we minimize our collective risk from armed true believers and the righteously aggrieved?
The day after the tragedy, the mayor of
But the major media outlets, so vast in their reach and full of themselves, spent little time grappling with the implications of this comment or thrashing in horrified uncertainty beyond their political comfort zones. They became predictably preoccupied with the lesser question of Breivik's political agenda, focusing much attention on the 1,500-page "manifesto" he had written (which his killing rampage successfully publicized), about the liberation of
In other words, the major media failed utterly --as usual -- to look at the issue of violence itself, and its causes, and lapsed into analyses of viewpoints and sides. The sinister irrelevance of this analysis -- at least in the absence of deeper and more complex coverage -- was revealed in the first wave of mistaken commentary, before it was known precisely who had perpetrated the mayhem. Some pundits, reporters and editorial writers jumped the gun and blamed . . . OMG, Muslim terrorists! And the word went out.
"
Thus the
And even the
This is worse than bad reporting. It's a massive cover-up of the roots of human violence. What if Breivik, who demonstrated, after all, a capacity for meticulous planning, had managed to steal or, what the heck, build a drone aircraft, and had bombed
"As they approached closer, I saw that the truck was riddled with bullets and shrapnel -- full of dead insurgents, decapitated corpses. I'll never forget this. A very young PFC in the back of the truck lifted a decapitated head. 'We really f- - -ed these guys up, didn't we?' Other soldiers were celebrating on top of the bodies. (The dead were) mostly teenage boys from the local community."
This fragment of testimony from the 2008 Winter Soldier testimony in
Twitter: @ihavenet
- Global Economic Downturn: A Crisis of Political Economy
- Crisis of Confidence: Debt Debate Erodes US Global Standing
- United States Debt Downgrade Won't Have Much Short-Term Effect on Foreign Policy
- The Empathy Deficit
- Stiglitz Upbeat About China and Latin America
- China Trade Surplus Rises
- China Sees Inflation Rate Hit 6.5%
- Latin America Not Immune to U.S. Debt Deal
- Is Japan Now a Good Bet?
- Is Germany the New Safe Haven?
- Islam and Arab Political Change
- Iran Reshaping Persian Gulf Politics
- Diplomatic Pressure on Al-Assad Gaining Momentum
- Arab Nations Join Call For Al-Assad To Stop Civilian Attacks
- Bahrain and Kuwait recall Syria envoys
- Clinton Says Syrian Government has Lost Legitimacy
- September Looms Large in Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
- Israel's Growing Wealth Gap Fuels Economic Anger
- Israel and Cyprus Forging Ahead on Gas Bonanza
- Major Israeli Defense Merger Dropped
- Israel Approves 1,600 Settler Homes in East Jerusalem
- Mini UAV Chopper For Urban Warfare Revealed
- Roman-era Sword Uncovered in Ancient Ditch in Jerusalem
- Hamas: Palestinian Authority is Clamping Down On Our Preachers
- Warnings of 'Somalization' And All Out Civil War in Yemen
- Missing Out on Vital Medicines Because of Economic Crisis
- Jordanians Lash Out Against Planned Nuclear Reactor
- Jordanian Mosque Named After Jesus
- Troop Withdrawal Rests on Decision From Iraq
- Somali Forces and African Union Peacekeepers Gradually Expand Control In Mogadishu
- Somali President: Combat Operations Against Al-Shabaab Will Continue
- Al-Shabab Pullout: The Beginning Of The End in Somalia?
- Africa: Tough Choices As Food Prices Continue To Rise
- Nigeria: Jail Threat for Polio Vaccination Refuseniks
- Congo: Implement Anti-Discrimination Law, Urge Indigenous Peoples
- Congo: High-Tech Measures To Curb Illegal Fishing In Congo
- Raw Sewage Kills in Madagascar
- Tanzania: Violence Against Children Rampant
- Maternal Deaths Quadruple In South Africa
- United States and Pakistan Navigate New Tensions in Fraught Relationship
- Pakistan's Forgotten 2005 Quake Victims Still Need Help
- China Announces Sea Trial Of Its First Aircraft Carrier
- Indonesia's Global Significance
- Seoul Blasts Pyongyang For Fabricating Shelling Incident
- North Korea Planned Assassination of South Korean Defense Minister
- Calls For End To Torture and Extrajudicial Killings By Bangladeshi Police
- Muslim Rebels Seek Substate In Philippines
- DOJ Places Former Philippine President On Immigration Watchlist
- Britain Sticks With Austerity Plan
- Cameron Announces Crackdown On Facemasks
- Norway: The Sky Is Weeping
- Norway Attacks a Tragic Result of Failed Immigration Policies
- Norway: Blaming the Muslims
- Norway: Breivik's Real Enemy: Himself
- Brazil Joins Race for Globalized Students
- OAS Is a Basket Case - but a Needed One
- African Horn Migrants Heading South 'Pushed Backwards'
- Drought and HIV: A Dangerous Combination
- Drought Has Kenyans Running on Empty
- Security Risks Overshadow Aid Delivery Efforts in Kenya
- Drought Exacerbates Conflict in Turkana
- Kenyan Farmers Reap Rewards of Switching to Maize
- Uganda War Crimes Trial May Affect LRA Defections
- Egypt Taking on the Hepatitis C Virus
- Egypt - You Tweet You Want a Revolution
- Cleric Signals Egyptian Fears About Iran
- No NATO Ceasefire in Libya Despite Ramadan
- Ship Sinks Off Southern Philippine Province - 178 Passengers Saved
- Over 600 War Children Still Missing
- Saudis Assume Role as Banker of Counter-Revolution
- Israel Orders Illegal Jewish Outpost to be Vacated
- Bedouin Face Opportunity Gulf in Negev
- Netanyahu May Be Reversing Economic Course
- Israel's Arabs Debate National Service
- Israel Readies for Rocket Barrage
- Arabs Take Credit for 'Israeli Spring'
- Port Crisis Brings Iraq - Kuwait Relations to New Low
- Over 130 Dead in Latest Syrian Protest Crackdown
- As Protests Grow, Syrian Regime Gets Religion
- Iraq Dusts Off F-16 Order
- Foreign Investors Flock to Iraq
- Arab Spring on Your Ramadan TV Screen
- Greece's 2nd bailout: Debt Restructuring with No Debt Reduction?
- Eurozone Crisis: Greek Tragedy
- Turkey Grows Nervous Over Economy
- Istanbul's Greek Schools Struggle Amid Funding Shortage
- Turkey: Military Resignation Strategy Misfires
- Brazil and IBSA: Blueprint for Future Cooperation?
- Afghanistan: Rethinking the Way Forward
- And, in the Background ... Our Numbers Still Grow
- War Fatigue and the Un-Critical Critics of War
- Obama's Expanded Militarism
- Obama's Bush-League World
- China Eclipsing United States in Global Reach
- Debt Fight Reinforces China's Negative Views of America
- Military-Industrial Journalism
- Slapstick and Denial Highlight News International's London Testimony
- Rupert Murdoch's Legacy -- Greater Press Controls
- Decline of the English Scandal
- Another Blow to Journalism's Image
- On Journalistic Credibility
- Is Italy on the Brink of Debacle?
- European Debt Crisis: Could Italy Be Next?
- Italy: Barbarians -- in Suits -- at the Gates
- Looking at Greece in the Argentinean Mirror
- The Rise of Turkey in the Balkans
- Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Croatia Agree to Help Each Other on Road to EU
- Turkey's Kurds Announce Plan For Democratic Autonomy
- A Cyprus Solution By The End of The Year?
- Some Albanians Consider Changing Nationality for Profit
- Democracy in Mexico: The Past, Present, and Future
- Making Room for Brazil's Growing Clout
- Brazil's Deforestation Quagmire
- Obama MIA in Latin America
- The Other South Asia
- The 2011 Mumbai Serial Blasts and India's 'Resilience'
- Japan's Decline as a Robotics Superpower
- Will Fukushima Survivors Be Doubly Victimized?
- Why Palestinians Have Been Sitting Out the Arab Spring
- Qadhafi's Days in Libya Are Numbered
- How to Secure Peace in South Sudan
- Handling Big Contradictions
- Tax Havens: Shady Deals
- Environment: Worlds of Water
- Environment: Rebuilding Sandcastles
- Economic Cost in Yemen
- Egypt and Palestine: Internecine Alliance
- In New Egypt Old Conspiracies Live On
- Show Stolen From Egyptian Superstar in Anti-Mubarak Drive
- Russia Has Syrian Blood on Its Hands
- Syrian Revolution Gets Islamic Seal of Approval
- Muslim Brotherhood Challenges Jordan's King
- A Dumb and Dumber War in Libya
- Libya and the Problem with The Hague
- Are Palestinians Getting Cold Feet on Independence?
- Tent Camp Rises in Tel Aviv To Protest Home Costs
- Open Air Market at Heart of Jerusalem's Downtown Revival
- Rwanda: A New Rwanda?
- Somalia's Pirates: Ransom Cash 'Easy Come Easy Go'
- Al-Shabaab Offer Somalis Kinder and Gentler Face
- Mogadishu Hospitals Running Out of Medicine
- Kenya Feels the Strain as Somali Refugee Numbers Soar
- Ethiopia: Floods Pose New Threat to Food Security
- Understanding Nigeria's Boko Haram Radicals
- Turkey: Constitutional Overhaul?
- European Action Service: Europe Eats Its Young
- Spain: Playing at Revolution
- Spain May Change Tone on Latin America
- Britain's Tabloid Scandal Sounds Familiar
- Britain's Metropolitan Police Commissioner Quits Over News Corp Phone Hacking Scandal
- News of the World Editor Brooks Arrested
- Headed to Europe This Summer? It's Going to Be a Riot
- Europe This Summer: Go, But Carefully
- South Korea's School Tablets -- a Test for All
- Bombs Before Bread in North Korea
- 'Unprecedented' Drug Trafficking Heightens Risk To Youth
- Never-Say-Die Attitude Propels Japan to Victory Over USA In Women's FIFA World Cup Finals
- Three Venezuelan Scenarios -- None of Them Good
- Mexican President Congratulates Troops for Huge Marijuana Discovery
- On Humanitarianism: Is Helping Others Charity or Duty or Both?
- Financial Rebalancing Act: Stop Worrying About Global Flow of Capital
- Globalization and Unemployment
- The Divided States of Europe
- The Secrets of Germany's Economic Success
- Russia's Evolving Leadership
- Does Obama Have a Grand Strategy?
- The Crisis in Clean Energy
- Why Middle East Studies Missed the Arab Spring
- Egypt's Military and Upcoming Elections
- Taliban Hotel Attack: Low Death Toll, High Psychological Value
- Bin Laden's Re-branding of al-Qaida
- Perfidious Pakistan
- Effects of the American Drone Program in Pakistan
- NATO After Libya: The Atlantic Alliance in Austere Times
- South Africa's Land Reform Crisis
- Defending Democracy in Cote d'Ivoire
Available at Amazon.com:
Aftermath: Following the Bloodshed of America's Wars in the Muslim World
Displacement and Dispossession in the Modern Middle East (The Contemporary Middle East)
The End of History and the Last Man
The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order
The Tragedy of Great Power Politics
Copyright 2011, The Miami Herald Distributed by Tribune Media Services