Why would the White House downplay the honor associated with President Obama’s acceptance of the Nobel Peace Prize? Could it be the comparative achievements of previous recipients?: People like Lech Walesa, Nelson Mandela, the 14th Dalai Lama, Mother Teresa, Aung San Suu Kyi of Burma, Elie Wiesel, Martin Luther King, Jr., Anwar al-Sadat & Menachem Begin.
The list of such notables goes on and on. The names above, as well as those of other people awarded the Nobel Peace Prize mostly share a common characteristic. With few exceptions, they have clearly demonstrated a lifetime of accomplishment in furthering peace and human rights, each person in his or her own way. Not talk. Results. Most with humility and some only after experiencing great hardship or death.
Mere days after announcing that he will increase troop levels in Afghanistan, the President of the United States will leave for Oslo, Norway where, amid great fanfare on Thursday, he will accept the Peace Prize. It should be a great honor for him and, by extension for this country.
But where’s the beef? We are still in Iraq and the recent increased violence in Baghdad since our troops have begun pulling out from major population centers only points to the ineffectiveness of the Iraqi regime to maintain order.
The strategy which Obama will use in Afghanistan is similar but confusing: deploy 30,000 more troops while simultaneously announcing their withdrawal in 18 months. The Afghan president has already announced that his country will not be prepared to take over in 18 months.
For that you get a peace prize?
No comments:
Post a Comment