Obama and the Nobel Peace Prize

As we all know by now, President Obama has won the Nobel Peace Prize - an award that has in the past been conferred upon such giants as Martin Luther King, Jr., Gandhi, Lech Walesa, Desmond Tutu, Nelson Mandela, Elie Wiesel, Linus Pauling, George Marshall, Woodrow Wilson, Teddy Roosevelt and other esteemed peacemakers.

This is a major honor and I'm glad an American has won this award again. Congratulations President Obama.

However, there are some questions about this one. The primary issue is, well, what has Obama actually accomplished to merit the honor? Where are the results? Which people or nations have ceased killing each other and now live peacefully as a result of Obama's actions? What has he invented or championed that has brought peace?

To his credit, Obama himself was surprised and even said that he felt that he did not deserve to be grouped with previous winners.

In any case, the Nobel organization cites Obama's election and foreign policy moves as having given the world new hope and improved the image of the US globally - both of which they believe are significant elements needed to seed and spread peace globally.

OK, well, that's nice, but I'm not too convinced by that. Yes, I'm an Obama supporter. Yes, I think he's doing things well. And yes, I think that if followed through, his foreign policies may indeed mean peace in war-torn areas and better relations internationally. But has that really come to pass yet? The US is still in Iraq, the Afghan war is heating up, and Israel and the Palestinians are still going at it just to mention a few big-time conflicts where the US is involved. Where's the peace there?

With this all being the case, one wonders why the Peace Prize committee decided to honor Obama so early in his tenure of president? The answer to this leads into another area of some controversy.

Specifically, the speculation that giving the prize to Obama is a slap at the previous Bush administration. While I certainly have no way of knowing, I'm going to say...yes, sure, but of COURSE it is a slap at W and the way he ran the US and impacted the world. Think about it. Under the leadership of Bush and the Republican Congress, we went from a respected nation in with a thriving economy, healthy federal budget (and therefore able to be more helpful around the world), peacemaker in the Balkans and engaged heavily in the Israel/Palestinians negotiations to a despised nation with a failing economy, massive budget deficit, contempt for the UN, pulled out of international global warming treaties, adopted a "go it alone" approach and, oh yeah, we decided to invade Iraq despite and against all evidence that we needed to or should. So yeah, I think there's something to the notion that giving the prize to Obama is a signal from international circles that they're glad we have new leadership.

Also, I think there may be something to the idea that the Nobel team gave the award to Obama exactly to elicit controversy and conversation about their organization and award. This would not be the first time they've done so. For example, the Nobel Peace Prize has in the past been granted to people whose credentials of "peacemaker" are highly questionable such as Henry Kissinger and Yasir Arafat.

Why do that? Well, it keeps the Nobel name out there, ensures conversation and helps keep the award in the forefront of media coverage. And that may be what we're looking at here today...certainly in a more positive light, but in principle the same thing.

At any rate, the prize came as a surprise. They're not taking it back and Obama will certainly collect it in December. Therefore, regardless of the reasons for the award, I think the best thing we can hope for is that Obama - inspired and buoyed internationally by the award - transacts and accomplishes the peace that the world sorely needs.