That came from nowhere. Barack Obama wins the Nobel Peace Prize 2009 for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between people. The choice of the Norwegian Nobel committee was indeed stunning, especially since it was just two weeks since Obama assumed office as the President of Unites States, before February 1, the deadline for nominations.
Now Obama is the people's man, and very true all his efforts at primarily three fronts - Global Warming, Economic Stimulus and Reaching out to the Islamic world - are landmark initiatives, since thats exactly opposite what the President of United States does whilst in office. ( barring the Economic Stimulus, which is situational). Or to rephrase, that's what the Presidents of United States do when they are no more the President- be it Bill Clinton reaching out to North Korea, or President Jimmy Carter "holding back tears" while visiting sites of destruction in Gaza. Obama's moves are clearly pacifist and very unPresident like, and praiseworthy. As The Hindu has rightly put -
The world is so accustomed to American presidents waging war that the first incumbent to promise diplomacy gets to win the Nobel peace prize regardless of what he does.
Awarding the world's highest civilian honor to a man who is yet to prove himself worthy of it, in the hope that he"ll do something about it is too wishful - its like calling a bull a cow, and expecting to milk it.
I started this article on October 9, minutes after the news of Obama bagging the Nobel hit the internet - and had originally titled it - MuBarack Obama - Obama wins the Nobel, and why it is bad for America in the view that it was too early to judge him and that the burden of peace would make him a weak President which would not be in the best interests of America and so on. .
I am glad he isn't working overtime on peace issues, which is not what you should do when your country is the largest arms supplier in the world .
And I am saddened by his failure.
Take Afghanistan for instance. Things are no better than how they had been when he assumed office in January. There has been a spurt in the suicide bombings of late and even the President has admitted the United States' failure to bind together a viable Afghanistan bereft of violence. Now there are talks of having a UN monitored Muslim Peace Keeping force to bring peace in the worn torn country so as to change the common Afghan's perception of a non-believer and infidel force occupying their country. Things are so bad, even this wont be possible with some conspiracy theorist coming up with America's designs to fight one Muslim against another and bring an end to the Islam religion.
During the initial euphoria of bringing peace to the middle east, he called upon Israel to freeze settlements in Palestinian dominated Jerusalem. However, he gave up on it after a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, and merely discussed "the possibility of a pause in settlement activity".
In the light of such failures, Iran has also rejected the American bid to abandon its nuclear projects while the Obama administration has decided to hold fire for a while.
Will Barack Obama bring the world to peace just as George Bush brought perpetrators or crimes against humanity to a never ending justice?
I recall having read somewhere a black man not being happy with Obama as President. On being asked why, he said - Barack Obama is bound to fail. He is human. And humans fail. And when he fails, it will be a black man failing.
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