I had the day off, so I decided to pore over Anders Breivik’s self-serving manifesto. It’s obvious that he took some inspiration from Timothy McVeigh in the execution of his plans. As others have noted, he cribs some of his personal mythology from the Unabomber manifesto in justification of his actions.
Madmen like Breivik and Kaczynski write this stuff to preserve their place in history, and we read it in a vain attempt to find some reason, some explanation, for their atrocities. Of course, there isn’t any: some people are simply evil. To give attention to their ramblings is to play into their hands. Yet here I am laboring through all 1480 interminable pages.
After all the conspiracy theories, historical revisionism (which he claims to abhor), and claims to be a knight in a shadow order of renewed Templars, we come to Breivik’s planning notes. This is where it becomes clear that he’s not only deluded, but quite incompetent as well.
It seems that his research on weapons procurement consisted of watching a BBC documentary on Prague. Given the Czech Republic’s lenient gun laws, Breivik decided to try getting guns “off the radar” there.
As he describes it:
August 2010, 2
As the “armour acquirement phase” has been successfully completed it is now time to move on to the “weapons research phase” followed by the “weapons acquirement phase”. I’m planning a road trip to Denmark and Germany as backup targets and Czech Republic as the primary destination with the intention of buying an AK-47 (7.62) and a glock 17 or 19 (9mm). I’ve spent the last two to three weeks researching clubs or similar places where medium-scale drug dealers frequent.
Drug dealers are the best bet when looking to establish a weapons connection, after all. They, or their suppliers, have functional smuggler routes from other East bloc countries, the Balkans and from Turkey. While they prefer to trade drugs, due to the space efficient nature of narcotics, they are usually able to provide weapons as well. (…) I’ve heard that Prague is the most dangerous capital in Europe with a lot of very brutal and cynical criminals. There is a chance ill get killed down there by some desperate criminal individual. [p. 1421]
This guy really isn’t very bright. He’s lucky he didn’t get himself killed. We’re unlucky he didn’t get himself killed.
It seems his plan fell apart in short order:
So only one thing remains; I need to find my weapons connection within 4 days…! I failed miserably yesterday; I went to two brothels and a couple of clubs. The people I approached got really nervous and thought I was either a cop or completely nuts, lol. I have had to refine my approach pitch. It started off really bad. Whatever you do when trying to establish a gun connection, never be too direct.
This city doesn’t seem dangerous at all btw. I have no idea why that BBC documentary would present such incorrect information. In fact, I feel even safer here than back in Oslo. (…) I realize now that Prague is far from the ideal city when looking to buy arms.
Failing to procure weapons in a country with relatively lenient laws, he returned to Norway, where he took steps to acquire his guns legally. By his account, he took pistol training from November to January to qualify for ownership of a Glock 17. During this time, he also practised with his Mini-14, which he named Gungnir. The name means “Spear of Odin.”
Other equipment inculded:
- GG&G Picatinny Style Scope Base Ruger Mini-14, Ranch only: 95 Euro
- Aimshot Laser Sight and Flashlight Tri-Rail Barrel Mount: 30 Euro (3x picatinny/weaverrail)
- Allen Buttstock Shotshell Ammunition Carrier, 5 round Nylon (mounted on shotgun): 10euro
- LaserLyte Pistol Bayonet Quick Detachable — a picatinny/weaver rail bayonet purchasedfrom Ebay using VISA/Paypal, cost: 62 USD.
- 4 x 30 round magazines for Glock 9mm from a national supplier, Capsicum Solutions,using VISA, cost: 230 Euro.
- Cammenga Easyloader for AR15/Mini14 from a national supplier, Capsicum solutions,cost: 70 Euro
- Hollow point ammo for .223 from a national supplier, 500 Euro. Had to research and use a cover when buying; bird hunting ftw.
- Slugs ammo for shotgun, 100 Euro, cover when buying; deer hunting ammo.
He tried to get a silencer, but the initial buy fell through, after which he decided that,
I’m not going to take the chance with a regular non-auto silencer because it might overheat and explode during rapid fire, with the risk of destroying Gungnir. (…) The only bonus I guess is that by eliminating the silencer aspect allows me to order and equip a bayonet instead. So I guess; “Marxist on a stick” will soon become an exclusive Knights Templar Europe trademark:D. [p. 1431]
The guy’s a deluded imbecile. Still, he managed to kill 76 people. Not only does he live to tell about his exploits, but he gets the attention of the entire world when he does so. He has us exactly where he wants us, and the worst we can throw at him is a 21-year prison sentence.
If there is a lesson to be learned from this, it’s not a pleasant one. Even the most devout, compassionate societies can produce a monster from time to time. It can’t be predicted, and it can’t be legislated away. The only way to live with any degree of freedom is to accept that terrible things beyond our control will sometimes happen.