Peace Prize for BO is a joke, with the wrong people laughing
Sunday, October 11, 2009 9:00:52 AM
Giving the Nobel Peace Prize to Barrack Obama is like giving a Master's Degree to a three year old. Do both have potential and say some cute and interesting things once in a while? Yes. Are the things they say often completely unrealistic and potentially destructive? Yes. But at least the three year old has an excuse for his ignorance. BO's foreign policy activites have thus far have consisted of apologizing for the actions of his own country and being pushed around / lauded by dictators. Let me remind the Nobel organization that appeasement is not the same as peace. It is a false and dangerous trust in the untrustworthy; an olive branch offered to those who maintain a clenched first. When BO proclaimed his desire to eliminate nuclear weapons, many cheered a seemingly positive step toward worldwide peace. But others understand the danger of such a naive notion -- voluntarily giving up our strong hand creates an imbalance of power that invites agression and upsets the illusion of peace.
Peace, history teaches us, comes through strength. As the classic Reagan campaign ad reminds us: There is a bear in the woods. Some say the bear is a threat, others not. If we do not know, isn't it a good idea then to be stronger than the bear?
History also teaches us that bullies need to be confronted, not coddled or cooperated with. When President Bush, in the days after 9/11, called-out Syria, Iran, and North Korea as the Axis of Evil, he was mocked by detractors globally. But the actions of those countries speak for themselves and prove Bush was absolutely right. And recently at the UN meetings, the unfortunate speeches from the leaders of Iran and Libya, both proven terrorists that celebrate destruction in the name of Allah, were sad events that brought disgrace upon the UN, as Israel's Netanyahu correctly pointed out.
The Nobel committee proclaims this award was given to BO more as an encouragement for the future rather than for the actions of the past. The Nobel folks need to look at closer at the lessons of history before trying to shape that future.