Nobel Peace Prize

It is hard to comprehend how the Norwegian Nobel Peace Prize Committee could give this usually, although not always, significant award to President Barack Obama.

Looking through the list of winners from 1901 - 2009 http://nobelprizes.com/nobel/peace/peace.html there are giants and there are those whose achievements were minor. There are none who had achieved so little at the time of their nominations and who deserved the prize less than Obama.

The nomination period closed on February 1, 2009 - at which time President Obama had been in office for a mere twelve days. He had said some good words in his campaign but by then, as could reasonably be expected, had achieved little or nothing. Compared to such worthy recipients as Nelson Mandela, Mother Theresa, John Hume and David Trimble, Lech Walesa, Desmond Tutu, Anwar Sadat and Menachim Begim, or Andrei Sakharov, his accomplishments are not trivial - they are non-existent.

I can only come to the conclusion that the committee members are really not too bright, were desperate for a candidate, or had consumed a week's worth of recreational substances in a single day. Perhaps all three apply!

At least President Obama has not yet started a war even though he has not managed to end or win either of the two wars that he inherited from President Bush (Iraq and Afghanistan). It is not impossible, however, that he may order attacks against Iran nor can a war to defend South Korea against an attack by North Korea be ruled out. There would be much irony - although not exactly enjoyable - were our Nobel Peace Prize winning President to find himself in such a situation.

Awarding the prize to President Obama is arguably as bad a decision as the Committee's failure to award it to Alexander Solzhenitsyn.

Enough said.