Reaction to President Obama's Nobel Speech

I had so much hope for President Obama’s Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech this morning. After defending this award to many critics, I hoped his speech would show them what many in the international community already knew about his vision for peace and hope in the world. Instead of focusing on the various initiatives that his administration has sought for a more peaceful world, it seemed like the President was trying to justify sending more troops to Afghanistan in the very week he received this prize. The President appeared more focused on those in the U.S. who believed that he didn’t deserve the award than on those in the international community who nominated him for this award in the first place. I’m sure many of his critics were happy to hear him cite examples of America defending itself as a justification for war in Iraq and Afghanistan. But, if this is truly an international prize, wouldn’t it have been more thoughtful to respond to a different question than the one that has been floating around the U.S. since it was announced that the President would receive the award? While I’ve heard, “Does he [President Obama] really deserve this award yet?” many times, I still think we’ve been asking the wrong question. The question that came to my mind when he was given the peace prize was not whether he deserved it or not, but rather why the world community needed Mr. Obama to receive the award right now. If the promise of hope in new American leadership was strong enough to urge the Nobel committee to nominate President Obama, I wonder how they are feeling today as they were presented with an argument for war. It is true that this administration inherited these two wars, but they have certainly made them their own when they committed over 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan this week.

We all knew the timing of the Nobel ceremony and our continued military campaign in Afghanistan was unfortunate. That’s why many of us were expecting a speech focused on what this administration is doing well in regards to making this world a safer place. We expected a speech that focused on Obama’s desire to rid the world of nuclear weapons. With the START follow-on agreement still unsigned by Russia and the United States, and speculation that it will be signed in the next few weeks, we expected the majority of the President’s speech to focus on how this treaty and the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty are realistic steps to achieving a more peaceful and secure world. Unfortunately, the President used only a few sentences to touch on the issue of international nuclear disarmament. Actually, he spoke briefly about the United States and Russia’s desire to reduce nuclear weapons, but offered more of a warning to the international community about Iran and North Korea’s pursuit of nuclear weapons.

It seems like this administration, like many before it, is stuck in a style of thinking that will lead only to further conflict and war instead of dialogue and peace. In his speech, President Obama said, “A non-violent movement could not have halted Hitler’s armies. Negotiations cannot convince Al Qaida’s leaders to lay down their arms. To say that force is sometimes necessary is not a call to cynicism – it is a recognition of history; the imperfections of man and the limits of reason.” Not everyone accepts that World War 2 is the prime example of where war was absolutely necessary. To use the example of Hitler to assume that non-violent methods would be ineffective with Al Qaida is also not widely accepted. This administration seems to have fallen into thinking that America merely plays the role of defender of its people and allies. If we cannot see that World War 2, and even September 11th, were preventable, then we are doomed to repeat the same mistakes that have brought us to war in the past. If we continue down this reactionary path, the prospect of preventing future conflict seems poor.

This speech provided an opportunity to show how the START follow-on agreement and Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty are ways that America is trying to prevent war before it starts. It could have shown the international community and America that this administration is committed to a new type of foreign policy; one where we cooperate with others in pursuit of peace and security for everyone, not just waiting to fight back when attacked. I hope this message becomes clearer in the weeks ahead and as the President starts his second year in office. I hope President Obama remembers this award as he faces the tough decisions ahead of him.

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