While I count myself amongst fans of Barack Obama, the Nobel Committee’s decision to award him with the Peace Prize did come as a WTF moment this morning (to lots of people judging by FB news-feed). The Nobel Committee honoured him this morning for “his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples”.
Obama excels at public diplomacy, and has a cult-like following around the world. No other world leader shares his commitment towards nuclear disarmament and a multilateral world. However, awarding the Nobel to him with the war in Afghanistan bringing new dead everyday, Guantanamo still open and troops still in Iraq strikes as pre-mature. Further, he has been active as president for only 10 months. Granted that he has made significant departures in that period, would it not have been more seemly to honour a longer commitment to human-rights and world-peace.
Not that the Nobel Prize is a sign of anything. Gandhi, being amongst the famous non-recipients.
But for now the Obama love-fest continues.
The Economist published yesterday the favourites to win, foremost amongst whom were Chinese human-rights activist Hu Jia and Afghan Women’s and Human Rights Activist Sima Samar
source: The Economist
“WTF-moment” sounds about right. It is rather precocious of the committee to award a head of state who has been in office for less than a month, and whose contributions to international peace relations prior to his inauguration were less than noteworthy. While Obama’s rhetoric is clearly and positively embracing peace, his actual actions are, at the moment, falling short of expectations, especially in the case of Guantanamo. More importantly, there is ample room for escalation of his foreign policy when it comes to Afghanistan. Considering the US are seemingly in a political quagmire there, the Nobel Committee might look extremely foolish in a couple of years time, when it becomes clear that Obama’s rhetoric and diplomacy are a lot bloodier than they are currently purported to be. This is all speculation, of course, but a nomination in a few years’ time might have been more appropriate. Until then, I solemnly hope Obama’s policies will prove my doubts wrong.
Ack, my explanation didn’t up with to the way I’d liked it to.
http://www.globalistan.org – go to my favorites!!!