Barack Obama wins Nobel Peace Prize

[henk4]

This has been covered extensively in my previous posts. It seems futile to continue arguing the same point over the same arguments

thank you, that proves my point.

[lightweight]

thank you, that proves my point.

If you insist...

[henk4]

If you insist...

well, I found it a bit disappointing that from the cases I mentioned you only referred to Al Gore. You also could have come up with other examples from the link I posted.

[cmcpokey]

Since no one has posted the official announcement, which outlines the reason for his selection, i figured I would share it.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided that the Nobel Peace Prize for 2009 is to be awarded to President Barack Obama for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples. The Committee has attached special importance to Obama’s vision of and work for a world without nuclear weapons.

Obama has as President created a new climate in international politics. Multilateral diplomacy has regained a central position, with emphasis on the role that the United Nations and other international institutions can play. Dialogue and negotiations are preferred as instruments for resolving even the most difficult international conflicts. The vision of a world free from nuclear arms has powerfully stimulated disarmament and arms control negotiations. Thanks to Obama’s initiative, the USA is now playing a more constructive role in meeting the great climatic challenges the world is confronting. Democracy and human rights are to be strengthened.

Only very rarely has a person to the same extent as Obama captured the world’s attention and given its people hope for a better future. His diplomacy is founded in the concept that those who are to lead the world must do so on the basis of values and attitudes that are shared by the majority of the world’s population.

For 108 years, the Norwegian Nobel Committee has sought to stimulate precisely that international policy and those attitudes for which Obama is now the world’s leading spokesman. The Committee endorses Obama’s appeal that “Now is the time for all of us to take our share of responsibility for a global response to global challenges.”

So they really aren't giving him the award for his specific actions, but by the change in tone he has brought to international politics, and the message of inspiration aimed at the peoples of the world.

[henk4]

as I said: "Welcome back to the World of all of us, United States of America".

[wstander]

True, but what this is all about is the US trying to stop other people from developing Nuclear weapons, so that only they can have them. On the process a lot of excuses are made (Iran / NK are religious fundamentalists etc), which are true, but the core of the story is power

No, we were discussing President Obama's receipt of the Nobel Peace Prize and whether he had accomplished anything to deserve it. Someone else claimed progress in getting NK and Iran to conform to INTERNATIONAL PRESSURE and abide by the UN resolutions.

Funny, I seem to recall a lot of UN resolutions to deny NK and Iran nuclear power, both weapon and power

Also, the UK, Russia, China, all have nukes...they are part of the UN also...

NK has been a belligerent since before 1949....sometimes they make more noise than others

[jcp123]

I think reintroducing the concept of diplomacy in international politics is a much better condition for peace than the "if you are not with us, you are against us". theorema used by his predecessor. In that sense his approach has already significantly contributed to peace. Again, this is a development that mostly passes over the heads of average american, used to take in his news via the usual suspect TV networks (they may only show anti-US demonstrations as much as they can) , but for the rest of the world it has been very visible.
It will take some time for many people (outside the USA) to fully understand and to accept that Obama might be sincere, but that is not because of Obama, but because of the extent of the reputation damage done during the past eight years.

So, then, he gets it for being likeable as I said? You can't get a car loan without credit history, but apparently you can get a Nobel with no body of work to back it up other than being seen as a nice guy. If that's the case, I know a ton of people who should share a Nobel. It's a little weak for me. I'm not so closed to him that I won't give him credit where credit is due. But at this point I don't see any tangible benefits, negatives, or body of work that can really be judged one way or the other aside from a speech at the UN and a pledge to withdraw the missle shield from E. Europe.

Talk to me again when he's been to a few conferences, brokered a few deals, and we can have something to actually point to and say "yea" or "nay"...

[Kitdy]

A major problem I see is that he was nominated for the prize after being in office for a matter of days I think - that's really suspect.

Why didn't the Nobel committee wait until further into his presidency - a year or a few to then assess whether or not he deserved the prize? Awarding it to him in this manner smells funny I think - just like last year when they have the same prize to Al Gore for climate change - what the hell does that have to do with peace?!

[wwgkd]

A major problem I see is that he was nominated for the prize after being in office for a matter of days I think - that's really suspect.

Why didn't the Nobel committee wait until further into his presidency - a year or a few to then assess whether or not he deserved the prize? Awarding it to him in this manner smells funny I think - just like last year when they have the same prize to Al Gore for climate change - what the hell does that have to do with peace?!

He got the prize for being elected. Everything he's "accomplished" with getting the world to trust us more has merely been achieved by being a different person. Everything that's actually been done by this administration was started by the previous (yes, bush was part of multinational talks with NK, and was scaling back troop presence in Iraq, etc.) That's certainly true of the time when he was nominated. Yes, he's talking about including other nations more (even bush was,) but he hasn't done anything aside from send out rebuffed overtures and then pursued very similar policies with a different spin in the PR.

Remember that Al Gore received the prize at a time that just one of his houses was using 20 times the (US) national average of KWh. This hasn't been a real prize for a while. People are bashing Mother Teresa for the fact that she was religious, but she did a lot of good work with people who needed her help, with tangible results.

This is pure political pandering and even people I know who worked on local campaigns to get Obama elected think it's ridiculous.

[cmcpokey]

So, then, he gets it for being likeable as I said? You can't get a car loan without credit history, but apparently you can get a Nobel with no body of work to back it up other than being seen as a nice guy. If that's the case, I know a ton of people who should share a Nobel. It's a little weak for me. I'm not so closed to him that I won't give him credit where credit is due. But at this point I don't see any tangible benefits, negatives, or body of work that can really be judged one way or the other aside from a speech at the UN and a pledge to withdraw the missle shield from E. Europe.

Talk to me again when he's been to a few conferences, brokered a few deals, and we can have something to actually point to and say "yea" or "nay"...

before posting this, did you happen to read my post, with the reasons they chose him?

[lightweight]

No, we were discussing President Obama's receipt of the Nobel Peace Prize and whether he had accomplished anything to deserve it.

Hmmm, I guess I went a bit off topic there

Maybe on another thread I could elaborate more on this

[S.O.S]

When am i going to receive my peace prize. I successfully negotiated a passage to freedom for my bracen bits, negotiation of peace doesn't get any harder then this .

[wstander]

Hmmm, I guess I went a bit off topic there

Maybe on another thread I could elaborate more on this

Yeah, we all get wrapped up and distracted sometimes...

[switters78]

I'm glad he won because to me it's a sign that we Americans finally have a leader, and not just another businessman masquerading as a politician. It's refreshing that he recognizes we're part of the rest of the world, not better than it, and I'm glad that the world has noticed. It represents a significant change in attitude from a country that's always thought it could do what it wants without repercussions, and that to me is an achievement.

Hopefully this will signal a change from the norm of Americans who beat their breast about America being #1 and have never left their own country to experience what's out there. Sometimes I'm embarrassed to admit that I'm from the US when I travel because I know the stereotype in many places is that we're all idiot Americans lacking a global perspective...but I'm starting to wander off topic here...

[henk4]

I'm glad he won because to me it's a sign that we Americans finally have a leader, and not just another businessman masquerading as a politician. It's refreshing that he recognizes we're part of the rest of the world, not better than it, and I'm glad that the world has noticed. It represents a significant change in attitude from a country that's always thought it could do what it wants without repercussions, and that to me is an achievement.

Hopefully this will signal a change from the norm of Americans who beat their breast about America being #1 and have never left their own country to experience what's out there. Sometimes I'm embarrassed to admit that I'm from the US when I travel because I know the stereotype in many places is that we're all idiot Americans lacking a global perspective...but I'm starting to wander off topic here...

fully correct and fully on topic, actually one of the best posts in this topic.