BULLETIN:  TERROR IN NORWAY – AT 2:03 P.M. ET:  We are closely following the terror attack in Oslo, Norway, today.  A huge bomb went off in or near the building housing the prime minister's office.  The prime minister is safe, but there are many casualties on the street.  Late reports say at least seven have been killed, but we caution about using specific numbers this early in an event.

At the same time, there has been a shooting at a youth camp run by the prime minister's leftist party, on an island near Oslo.  There are casualties, but we don't have details.  Initial police response is that the bomb and shooting are linked.  There is a report that the shooter has been captured, but it is unconfirmed.

It's important for readers to get past the image of Norway as another sweet Scandinavian country.  The Scandinavian nations have different cultures and often dramatically different political styles.  Although a member of NATO, Norway has a problematical political past.  An uncomfortable number of Norwegians sided with the Nazis before and during World War II.  The term "Quisling," meaning traitor, comes from the fact that Nazi-occupied Norway was administered by a Norwegian politician by that name.

The Nobel Peace Prize is given in Oslo, the only Nobel Prize not given in Sweden.  When it was given to Jimmy Carter, members of the prize committee made it clear it was a "kick in the shins," as one put it, to George W. Bush.  While Norway has some troops in Afghanistan, and has participated in the Libya operation, its government is notably aloof to Israel, and anti-Semitism has become a serious problem, especially in its universities.  It is a complex nation.

Recently, an Iraqi cleric in some legal trouble in Norway threatened to kill Norwegians.  An Islamist group has already taken credit for today's attacks, but there is no evidence that the claim is truthful.

Stand by.

July 22, 2011