by In the aftermath of the horrific massacre in Norway, President Barack Obama shared his condolences with Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg, according to the White House on Saturday.
White House Responds
The White House said in a statement that “The president offered any assistance the United States could provide to the Norwegian government in dealing with this horrible tragedy.” The statement continued by saying that, “In this incredibly difficult time, the president reaffirmed the deep and longstanding friendship between the United States and Norway.”
Norway Attack
The attack included two separate incidents. First, a car bomb exploded in a government building in Oslo; then, at least 85 people were massacred on an island on Friday, as the gunman posed as a police officer. The suspect is believed to be Anders Behring Breivik, a self-described conservative Christian.Obama called Stolenberg and said that he wanted to
“express personally and on behalf of the American people his deepest condolences for the dozens of innocent Norwegians killed and injured in yesterday’s senseless attacks in Oslo and Utoeya Island.”
Reeling from Terror
Norway is, understandably, reeling from the events on Friday. As a beacon of peace, Norway is trying to come to terms with the horrific acts. Stoltenberg said, “Never since the Second World War has our country been hit by a crime on this scale.”As he continued, “Many of those who have died were friends. I know their parents and it happened at a place where I spent a long time as a young person… It was a paradise of my youth that has now been turned into hell.”
