Clips From Last Night: Norway Prime Minister on terror attacks; Gov. Granholm on economy

soundoff (7 Responses)

1. Johnny
   

   It was pretty depressing seeing Jens dodge that question about the delay in response to the attacks. Mentioning an independent group doing a report, holds nearly no relevance to the topic set by the question. Then again, I guess getting a real answer from a politician is unlikely in this era.

   September 20, 2011 at 4:14 pm | Report abuse | Reply
   • Henrik Stamnes Dahl
     

     As norwegian I would answer it thus: Its a big country and Utøya is in the middle of nothing. Yes, there were things that could have been done different, yet I believe most people realise we don't need SWAT-teams in every village to respond to the odd incident. It's not like something in the same scale is going to happen every now and then.

     September 20, 2011 at 5:24 pm | Report abuse | Reply
     • Michael
       

       It is common for terrorists to attack multiple targets at the same time. Authorities should have been prepared for a coordinated terrorist attack. Moreover, the island is a short helicopter flight from Oslo. An emergency response team (or even a group of police) should have been dispatched at once as soon as reports of a second attack occurred. It is a terrible tragedy that could have been reduced in scope.

       September 21, 2011 at 2:58 pm | Report abuse |
2. HJ
   

   I think Henrik Stamnes Dahl answers that question well. To put things into perspective, Utoya is an island in the middle of a lake, in the middle of nowhere. For as long as there have been people gathering there, nothing has ever happened. There are no SWAT teams stationed close to there, the local police jurisdiction there covers a population of barely 10,000 people, and just simply wasn't equipped to handle a terrorist attack of this scale. The closest SWAT team was in Oslo, where a bomb had just blown up parts of downtown. While the delay and preparedness is being investigated (and I'm sure Norway will be much more prepared if there ever is a next time), I do think the PM makes a wise choice to let the investigators do their job, and not draw conclusions just yet. As a Norwegian expat, I'm proud of the way the aftermath of July 22nd has been handled, both in showing restraint as far as revenge goes, but also as far as not even attempting to score political gains from this.

   September 20, 2011 at 6:45 pm | Report abuse | Reply
   • Anne Schjelderup
     

     As yet another Norwegian, I also like to say I'm proud of how things has been handled. The terrorist wanted to create fear and hate, I feel to a large degree we have resisted the temptation of that.

     Throwing blame and accusations would have been to give the terrorist what he wanted. Instead a thorough investigation will show us how we can improve the security.

     Most any person who was involved with this terror think they could have done something different, which may have saved somebody. Such feeling of guilt is for many harder than the nightmares. I wasn't there, and I don't believe I have the right to increase the burden on any-one.

     September 21, 2011 at 3:42 pm | Report abuse | Reply
3. agnes
   

   hola pierce hablas con agnes sisi senor ese senor simon como todos los arrogantes holandeses hablan porque tienen boca pero solo son unos pobres oportunistas q por plata son capaz de vender a la familia a sus cuidados y el alma son unos malos agradesidos q gracias a una persona se ganan la plata y el poderde ese maldito pais si ellos son capaces de hacer a una persona q vendra despues pero como tu eres tan inteligente como ellos segturo q ni lo entiendes e piers bueno ojala la arogancia no se le suba tanto porque ellos aunque no lo admita mucha gente sabe quien es y gracias a quien es ojala puedas escribirme besitos agnes
   ps vez piers no tengo pelos en la lengua ni soy cinica ni hipocrita un mal holandes q se extiende por europa y el mundo

   September 20, 2011 at 11:15 pm | Report abuse | Reply
4. agnes
   

   pd 2
   no les parece un poco cinico y asqueroso sus proyectos de libertad riendo a carcajadas cuando en holanda matan gente porque les parece divertido y por plata antes de hacer esos proyectos sean mas integros q no solo comienzo a tener verguenza patriotica conb los holandes sino con ustedes tambien que cara duras q son no se q me da mas asco los q hacen ese numerito holandes o los de afuera q se rien y no hacen nada es q ahora es divertido vivir de una persona y luego matarla esque ya no existe la integridad moraal

   September 20, 2011 at 11:20 pm | Report abuse | Reply