Abi Mowbray
Barrack Obama may have been shunned by the IOC but the American President can now swap last week’s ambition to lift the Olympic torch for a much bigger accolade.
Mixed responses
Yesterday’s announcment that Obama is to become the third serving American President to receive the Nobel Peace Prize has been met with congratualtion and contempt in almost equal measure.
Critics of the news argue that Obama’s healing rhetoric does not warrant such a prestigious award at this early stage in his presidency.
However, the Nobel Peace Prize has historically been awarded to those who strive to bring about peace and is not exclusive to those whose aims have been fully achieved.
Historical perspective
Woodrow Wilson was awarded the same prize in 1919, despite a failure to implement his ‘Fourteen Points’ at the Treaty of Versailles.
What Wilson had achieved, was the redefinition of American foreign policy. The justification for his award being: “The President succeeded in bringing a design for a fundamental law of humanity into present-day international politics,”
With striking similarity to Wilson, Obama’s award has been described as an acknowledgement of “his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples,” and “Obama has as President created a new climate in international politics.”
Nuclear vision
Special mention was given to Obama’s “vision of and work for a world without nuclear weapons.” But tellingly, Iranian officials have been amongst those sceptical of the prematurity of the award.
Nobel Peace Prize nominees were cast only two weeks after Obama entered office. A President who can achieve such heights of international acclaim so early on in his career carries a heavy burden.
Call to action
History will assess whether Barrack Obama is a President truly deserving of the Nobel Peace Prize but currently the world is waiting in judgement. Obama must now silence his critics by achieving his election goals.
Obama himself has aknowledged the award as “a call to action.” But for a President who is contemplating sending ever more troops to Afghanistan, to a war that many believe to be unwinnable, just what action remains to be seen.
