The Oslo Syndrome....

You may have heard of the Stockholm Syndrome...

The syndrome is named after the Norrmalmstorg robbery of Kreditbanken at Norrmalmstorg, Stockholm, Sweden in which the bank robbers held bank employees hostage from August 23 to August 28, 1973. In this case, the victims became emotionally attached to their victimizers, and even defended their captors after they were freed from their six-day ordeal.

During this time of great stress, the hostages bond with the captors in what is theorized as a psychological attempt to increase the odds of survival. The same kind of bonding that goes on between a mother and child, where the bonding helps in the survival of the offspring.

So now, we have the Oslo Syndrome, another syndrome from a different Scandinavian city and this syndrome is useful to describe how Islamists are holding us all hostage. I construct the term Oslo Syndrome from the Oslo Accords in which there was much hope of building a lasting peace between Israel and the Palestinians.

In essence, the accords call for the withdrawal of Israeli forces from parts of the Gaza Strip and West Bank and affirm the Palestinian right to self-government within those areas through the creation of the Palestinian Authority. Palestinian rule would last for a five year interim period during which a permanent agreement would be negotiated (beginning not later than May 1996). Permanent issues such as Jerusalem, refugees, Israeli settlements in the area, security and borders were deliberately excluded from the Accords and left to be decided. The interim self-government was to be granted in phases.

After Oslo, somehow, in the bargaining process where then Prime Minister Ehud Barak offered some large concessions, Palestinian President, Yasser Arafat walked away. Either unable to gain acceptance by his more militant Palestinian citizens or his inability to accept the existence of Israel that would essentially eliminate his ability to continue to fight [really all that he did his whole life] opted instead for a disastrous Palestinian uprising known as the 2nd intifada. The 2nd Intifada destroyed all hope to reach the agreements as outlined in Oslo. It shows that the people there have no desire for peace with the Isrealis and will continue to use their citizens as cannon fodder and their religion as the gunpowder to keep the conflict alive.

The hope of the Oslo Accords has now deteriorated into a situation that has little promise for resolution. Where Israel does not feel compelled to negotiate and the Palestinians are unable or unwilling to, very little can be accomplished within the context of peace. Its impossible for Israel to negotiate since they cannot negotiate with someone that can be held accountable to any agreement. The non-state actors, such as Hamas, that have gained a level of legitimacy through an irresponsible Palestinian election process, are supported by hostile regimes outside of the immediate territory that have no interest in creating a stable environment but desire to see continued conflict.

So what is the Oslo Syndrome as I am defining? Well, Islamists are holding us hostage to the hope that Oslo offered. Civilization views peace as the desirable objective and do not desire to see continuing destablizing conflict in Israel and the surrounding areas. We are being held hostage to the violence that Hamas, Hezbollah and other terrorist actors such as Iran offer, the same as a hostage in the Stockholm Syndrome fears since negotiation with Islamists has proved futile. The only hope is not to catch the attention is Islamists or try to get in their good graces so you are not executed like some barnyard animal about to become food. As a result in some unconscious response, some bond with the terrorists in the hopes of being given an ability to survive their brutality. A negotiated peace, such as that offered by Oslo is the preferable path but one that realistically offers little chance of success as we have seen but not learned with Oslo.

It has always surprised me how, particularly in Europe, I see the people there identifying with the terrorists and disparaging Israel as the aggressive one. The press there is especially ferocious in their attacks on Israel and tread lightly on the terrorists in the region. But, if we look at this in a logical sense, Israel offers no risk what-so-ever to safety and security of Europeans since Israel would never attack or invade Europe, whereas, the Muslims have and will do it again. Muslims kill people in Europe using barbaric bombing methods the same as they do to civilians in Israel. The risk to bombings and death in Europe and other civilized places around the world is from Islamic fanatics and not from Israelis, so why do Europeans behave as they do?

Muslims will kill Europeans again one time in the very near future. So, all of Europe and much of the world is being held hostage to the arbitrary will of Muslim fanatics and the European people are responding by emotionally attaching themselves and bonding with their captors. Much hope has been laid on the doorstep of negotiating peace though a process like the Oslo Accords but this is only possible in an environment where the other side seeks peace too. But it is not peace that they seek but domination and the use of innocent people around the world as pawns and hostages to their twisted ideology.

Who are the hostages? Innocent civilians such as the Lebanese [although they don't look as innocent as they did before], people on busses and trains in Madrid and London. People eating in restaurants in Morocco or commuting to work in Mumbai. People out for an evening in Bali or blown up at weddings in Jordan. People shopping in markets in Iraq or walking down the street in Turkey. People anywhere in Israel, whether they are Jews, Arabs, Filipinos, Rumanians are subject to arbitrary death at the hands of twisted Muslim fanatics. These people were all hostages and were gruesomely murdered and the rest of the living remain hostages to bloodthirsty Muslim fanatics. It is like the Stockholm Syndrome where Islamic fanatics hold us all hostage, the response in some circles is to become emotionally attached and bond with the perpetrators, ergo I create the term Oslo Syndrome.