Some wackado Islamic radical blew himself up in Stockholm Sweden.  He was the only fatality although he injured two others and now has a nation in the grip of fear.

Of course my title is simply a statement of how inept this particular bomber was in this particular case.  And yes, it is a bit sarcastic as well. But as we saw with the NYC bomber, it is indeed amateur hour among the radical recruits.  And that doesn’t count the Portland wannabe bomber and the other joker who was the victim of a sting as he tried to blow up a recruiting station.

For the most part, they’re young, they’re radical and – unfortunately – they already live in the country they target.  In fact, in some cases, they’re citizens of the country they target, although mostly naturalized citizens.

Of course the object of any such bombing is terror.  And the desired tactical outcome is mass casualties.  The desired strategic outcome, however, is fear and over-reaction. A bit of making those attacked dance to the attacker’s tune.  It’s about getting into the minds of those they wish to terrorize and make them more amenable to meeting the demands of the terrorists. 

In the case of Sweden, it turns out the reason for this attack was Sweden’s claimed “silence” about the cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad years ago.  Additionally, there was criticism of Swedish participation in NATO’s Afghan mission (500 Swedish troops in the northern part of the country).

So while the tactical outcome wasn’t accomplished, it appears that the strategic aim may end up being achieved.

The Stockholm blasts seemed certain to cause widespread shock in Sweden. The country has long prided itself on having created a stable and peaceful society at home, and on having avoided involvement in the upheavals that have ravaged much of the rest of Europe in modern times, including World War II.

It’ll be interesting how Sweden reacts to this in the coming weeks.  But perhaps every time they think about capitulating to the strategic aim of the terrorists they should review and think about the message they received from compatriots of the bomber:

“Now, your children — daughters and sisters — will die like our brothers and sisters and children die,” it continued. “Our actions will speak for themselves. As long as you do not end your war against Islam and the insult against the prophet and your stupid support for that pig Vilks.”

You can’t vote “present” in this sort of a situation.  As is obvious, people are out to kill Swedes and they don’t much care who it is that’s unlucky enough to be around the next bombing attempt (of course, the probability of being killed in a terror attack in the West is probably akin to the probability of being struck by lightning as it is – but it still scares people excessively.).

So … they can roll over, give up their liberty and freedom and someday see their children grow up in an oppressive culture that doesn’t value anything the Swedes value today.   Or Sweden can take a deep breath, hitch up its courage, declare real war on radical Islam and the killers it creates and sweep them from their country.  By doing so they can also serve notice that the dominant culture – Swedish culture – will remain as such and that those who’ve immigrated from other lands and other cultures can adapt to that culture or leave.  Here’s a basic truth that needs to be heeded: You cannot be tolerant with the intolerant.

When those who would kill you declare war on you as these killers have, you have two choices – fight the war or surrender.  You can’t decide not to participate.  It doesn’t work that way.  Hopefully Sweden will understand that and choose the former over the latter. 

~McQ