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Obama Wins Nobel Peace Prize

225px-official_portrait_of_barack_obamanobel-medal_thumbnail_0President Barack Obama has won the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize. It is a great honor for this country and for the President. For civil libertarians, however, the prize is a bit of a mixed message. Obama has blocked any investigation of war crimes or torture in violation of international law. He has also supported the limitation of free speech to allow the criminalization of criticism of religion. With less than a year in office, the selection may send the wrong message to Obama that personality rather than principles succeed in both domestic and international politics.

I know that it is not going to be popular to question the basis for this selection, but Obama has not proven to be exactly a ray of light on questions of human rights and international law. He is now in violation of various international agreements over torture and United Nations officials have denounced the United States for refusing to carry out its duty to prosecute those responsible for the torture program. Yet, the Nobel Committee has chosen this time to award him with the Peace Prize — undermining the importance of the Geneva Conventions.

To his considerable credit, he has re-examined our positions on a host of international agreements, including most notably global warming. However, one would expect to wait for at least a year to see if he carried through on such statements and policies. I believe if you look objectively at the record, it is hard to see why Obama warrants such an honor at this time. At least Teddy Roosevelt helped end the Russo-Japanese war and supported the creation of the Hague arbitration court. To put it simply, Obama’s selection is the triumph of hope over experience and he will have to earn this distinction in the years to come.

What do you think?

66 thoughts on “Obama Wins Nobel Peace Prize”

  2. I’m sure they are Speechless in Gaza.

    (BuelahMan, anyone can be nominated.)

  5. “A bit of a mixed message..” – Understatement! This is the worst ‘go fuck yourself’ to real peacemakers since Bush got nominated for this ‘prize’. (LMAO)

  7. Congratulations???

    For what? For killing all those innocent children with drones?

    I’m sorry, but something is amiss with this news.

  8. Has any other sitting Commander in Chief of 2 major military actions ever won the Nobel Peace Prize?

    I voted for Obama, and support most of his policies, but this selection is ludicrous. He is better than his predecessor but not exactly an exemplar of peace, transparency or accountability. I also have not seen him devote decades towards the peaceful advancement of humankind (e.g., Carter), put himself at considerable risk to advance freedom (e.g., Mandela), nor swallow a bitter, unpopular pill contrary to his prior positions for the sake of peace (e.g., Arafat).

    It makes me wonder what message the Committee intended to send — the nominal reason of “his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and co-operation between peoples” is absurd in light of his brief tenure and minimal changes in US diplomatic or military policy. Obama has an extraordinarily compelling and inspirational personal story, but such does not a Nobel make.

  9. Supremely silly. I would be embarrassed. The problem with this prize is its speculative nature. It’s awarded to people who *might* increase peace. I think it should be awarded to people who actually accomplish something material, and thus it should not be given out every year. Scarcity would make it more valuable and legitimate.

  10. As more and more is revealed, remember you are judge by the company you keep. My favorite personal quote is,

    “surround yourself with good people and good things will happen, surround yourself with bad people and bad things will happen”.

    Look at who this man has surrounded himself with.

    Kevin Jennings the school safety Czar likes the idea of man boy sex.
    Jerimiah Wright GD’s Amerika.
    Ayers, who now says he’s Obama’s Ghost writer and a terrorist.
    Van Jones white people poison black people.
    John Holdren wants to save the planet by exterminating people with mass sterilazation and FORCED ABORTIONS.
    And let us not forget Obama himself on his abortion stance.
    He voted in favor of a child born, that is out of the womb and BREATHING ON IT”S OWN to let die.

    What did Ginsburg say, I think she read Holdrens book.

    Ginsburg
    “Frankly I had thought that at the time Roe was decided, there was concern about population growth and particularly growth in populations that we don’t want to have too many of.“

    Not to worry, her last breaths will soon take place.

    This country is in deep trouble, be prepared to have it rammed up the poop shoot. We are heading down the old Hershey Highway.
    At least that’s the direction the school safety czar is going, with the bottoms down.

  11. Buddha said…”For what, exactly? A couple of make nice speeches and not being a total war pig like his predecessor?”

    and…

    Jill said…”Obama just submitted the largest defense budget in our nation. He is engaged in three hot wars. He has used drones in violation of international law, drones which have killed civilians, including children. He continues to torture our detainees. He believes he has the power to imprison the innocent. He has violated our own and international law by refusing to hold US war criminals responsible for their actions. All this makes a complete mockery of the prize.”

    —

    I agree with both of you.

    He has done little in the peace arena, other than a few nice speeches, and has done a tremendous amount on the war/killing front as demonstrated by Jill’s post.

    I also agree with the professor on his comments regarding Obamas’s problematic relationship with free speech and the Geneva Convention.

    From this point forward, I will personally give little attention or credence to the awards this committee makes. How could I? They just don’t have the creditability after this.

    Congrats to the President (!), but I don’t get it.

  12. I think awarding this prize after such a short time in office will reduce its prestige. The Nobel Committee would have served their own cause better if they had waited at least one more year.

  14. Obama just submitted the largest defense budget in our nation. He is engaged in three hot wars. He has used drones in violation of international law, drones which have killed civilians, including children. He continues to torture our detainees. He believes he has the power to imprison the innocent. He has violated our own and international law by refusing to hold US war criminals responsible for their actions. All this makes a complete mockery of the prize.

    I think this decision was not based on reality, but perception. I see this as a general problem with the intelligentsia, especially its left-leaning members. The peace prize committee is deeply mistaken about Obama.

    I believe the intelligentsia cannot come to terms with the reality that Obama isn’t Obama. Obama is a brand. In fact he is what advertisers call a “cult-brand”. And because Obama is a cult-brand, the intelligentsia cannot see the truth. Obama, in reality, opposes the very essence of this prize.

    (BBC World News has a feature on this with reaction from around the world. It also features journalists asking tough questions, something we never get to hear in the US.)

  15. Buddha:
    I see some people from that commitee are explaining why.Also acknowledgeing the short time in office.

  17. I’m probably swimming against the tide here but I’m going to ask it anyway.

    For what, exactly? A couple of make nice speeches and not being a total war pig like his predecessor?

    You all do realize he’d been in office less than a month when the application deadline (Feb. 1) rolled around, right?

    It sure seems like the qualifications for this prize sure have dropped since Carter won his for getting Begin and Sadat to have a sit down.

  18. This will, no doubt, have some conservatives’ heads exploding.

    Congratulation, President Obama.

  19. Not bad when the seed money came from explosives. Not bad for a sitting president to get a bump of 1 million. I ask is it tax exempt?

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