-
The Forgotten Art of Thinking About the Bomb
December 5, 2012 | 5 comments
-
The Deadly Arithmetic of Nuclear Proliferation
October 15, 2012 | 91 comments
-
Neo-Disarmament
February 10, 2012 | 40 comments
-
Nuclear Terrorism Sinks Savannah — and U.S. Civil Society
January 6, 2012 | 54 comments
-
Can Israel Save America?
September 9, 2011 | 98 comments
The Obama Watch
Nobel Peace Prize Update
Has “The One” met expectations?
Last year Wall Street Journal pundit Bret Stephens played contrarian against the flood of negative comment about the Nobel Committee awarding its 2009 Peace Prize to President Obama, after less than a year in office and with nothing to show for his labors. Stephens made a case for the award going to America’s tyro President: Looking at the Nobel Peace Prize’s 108-year roster of winners, President Obama does in fact richly deserve his award, wrote Stephens. The President is “a perfect pick” in light of a long record — and not just in recent decades — of Nobel awards going to peaceniks, terrorists, blowhards, and others who fit what Oriana Fallaci called “Goodists” — do-gooders who do little good and carp at those who actually do good. No peace prize went to the likes of FDR, Churchill, Truman, nor to Ronald Reagan (Gorbachev got one). Diplomats Frank Kellogg and Aristide Briand won, the former for the 1928 eponymous Kellogg-Briand pact that outlawed war as an instrument of national policy. The Japanese signed that pact two years before invading Manchuria.
While some notably deserving people — think Mother Teresa, Lech Walesa — have won, Stephens offers abundant evidence that 44 should mostly rue the company he keeps. My favorite awardee is the 1910 winner: an outfit called the Permanent International Peace Bureau — victorious just four years before Germany unleashed World War I. Read the Nobel Committee’s narrative on the Bureau and savor: It notes that World War I “hindered” the Bureau’s work and that “for technical and ideological reasons” World War II halted its work. Funny how getting millions of people killed will do that.
Prior Presidential winners were Teddy Roosevelt (1906) for brokering the Treaty of Portsmouth that ended the 1904-05 Russo-Japanese War (Russia got creamed); Woodrow Wilson (1919) for brokering the ruinous Versailles Treaty that set the stage for the rise of Adolf Hitler and, later, World War II; and Jimmy Carter (2002), ostensibly for having brokered the Camp David Accord (1979) between Egypt and Israel, but actually as a slap in the face to President George W. Bush (a motive clearly present in Obama’s win as well).
TR richly deserved his honor; his prize helped make America a top player on the international stage. As for Wilson, one is reduced to Joe E. Brown’s tagline to Jack Lemmon at the end of Some Like It Hot (1959): “Nobody’s perfect!” As for Jimmy Earl, his prime accomplishment during his four years was arguably not Camp David, which was made possible by Egyptian president Anwar Sadat’s 1977 visit to Jerusalem, hastily arranged to pre-empt the Carter idea of convening everyone, including radicals and terrorists, at Geneva for diplomatic palaver. Rather, it was Carter’s irresolution in the face of Soviet adventurism that convinced Moscow to invade Afghanistan in December 1979, leaving Jimmy Earl sputtering that Soviet boss Leonid Brezhnev had lied to him (imagine that!). Another notable laureate was Sir Norman Angell in 1933, for having predicted in his book The Great Illusion (1910) that a world war was impossible due to interlocked economies of the great nations. The Nobel Committee honored him 19 years after Angell’s prediction was blown sky high, literally, and 15 years after “The War to End All Wars” decimated the “Lost Generation” of Europe’s young.
Which brings us to The One’s report card since his December 2009 Nobel address. Let’s tally things up: First, Obama’s mindless obsession with Israeli settlements has scuttled peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians, by getting the Palestinians to insist that settlements be halted before talks can proceed. Prior to Obama’s ascendancy the Palestinians had never insisted on this, but after Obama did — as did Mideast peace envoy George Mitchell, who seems unable to see any differences between the Irish and the Palestinians — how could the Palestinians ask for less? (Simple test, George: Ask a Palestinian to sing “When Irish Eyes Are Smiling”….)
Second, President Obama stood aside as Hamid Karzai stole the 2009 Afghan Presidential election, enraging Afghans and undermining NATO’s counter-insurgency. Karzai repaid this kindness by playing both sides in the war.
Third, there is President Obama’s inattention to internecine governmental squabbling in Iraq, as if he were indifferent to what kind of government emerges, after all the blood and treasure America spent in that country.
And finally, there is President Obama’s feckless pursuit of negotiations plus tepid Russia- and China-limited UN sanctions against Iran, as Iran marches merrily on toward joining the nuclear club. Perhaps the administration did unleash the recent “Stuxnet worm” that gummed up computers at key Iranian nuclear sites for a time; if so, this is great foreign policy but not the kind of thing that the Nobel nabobs value, albeit it does far more for peace than diplomatic jabber. A nuclear Iran would be the jewel in the crown of Obama’s Prize, very possibly unleashing a conflagration that would kill more millions in less time than any calamity in the history of humankind. Such would be, to borrow a phrase from Homeland Insecurity Secretary Janet Napolitano, the ultimate “man-caused disaster.”
In 2010 the award has gone to Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo. Anyone with the courage to face down Beijing’s brutalitarian regime has my admiration. But come to think of it, why didn’t the Nobel folks give a second award — celebrating an exact centennial since the first one — to the Permanent International Peace Bureau, which has performed flawlessly since then (save when major wars intervened)? President Obama will have to ignite a nuclear war, if he wants to top the PIPB’s first peace century.
About the Author
Letter to the Editor View all comments (46) | Leave a comment
More Articles by John C. Wohlstetter
More Articles From The Obama Watch
http://spectator.org/archives/2010/10/15/nobel-peace-prize-update
Follow us:
ADVERTISEMENT
Current Issue
- Current Wisdom
- The Great Train Robbery
- Downton’s Class System — and Ours
SPONSORED LINKS
FLASHBACK TO: 1995
-
Pope Culture
A man of faith in a godless age is hitting Americans where it hurts.
-
Why the GOP Does Not, Like, Totally Suck
Mr. and Mrs. American Spectator Reader, let P.J. O’Rourke talk sense to your kids.
-
Dames at Sea
-
In the Absence of Guns
In Britain, defending your property can get you life.
-
The Metaphysical Martini
-
Counting the Costs of Clintonism
The debacle of this president’s administration is both a cause and a symptom of the decline of American values. Unless Congress impeaches him, that decline will go on unchecked. An eminent jurist surveys the damage and assesses the chances for the recovery of our culture.
-
Chuck McHagel
It won’t take long for conservatives to scratch this presidential wannabe off their 2008 scorecard.
-
The Legacy of Old John and Mother Fresh-Roasted
-
It’s the Best Time of the Year
The American Christmas, like the songs that celebrate it, makes room for everybody under the rainbow. Is that why so many people seem to be hostile to it?
-
The Bush Crack-Up
Was the President done in by the economy, or by the politics of the economy?
Clip of the Day
ADVERTISEMENT
FastJohnny| 10.15.10 @ 7:57AM
I think that most people who have the use of a brain understand that the President's Nobel Prize was a Eurocentric statement about GW. I suppose that rationalizations might be that Obama was the first black president of the U.S., but that is about as far as it goes. In so far as his achievements, there was nothing and to this date remains so that merits anything close to a Nobel Peace Prize. But then again looking at the vast number of miscreants that have recieved the prize over the years, I guess he fits right in.
Alan Brooks| 10.15.10 @ 9:23AM
"No peace prize went to the likes of FDR"
FDR was a congenital liar; though a good politician.
"Good politician " isn't saying much, however, comparable to saying "good attorney".
But am so glad McCain isn't president, I wish Obama would get both the Peace Prize and his likeness on Mt. Rushmore. I mean it.
Steve A| 10.15.10 @ 9:48AM
Alan, If he did get chisled in Rushmore it would be for his indirect effect on galvanizing a conservative rebirth resulting in saving America from stepping off the cliff into oblivion. This guy has done more to expose the folly of liberalism than ANY historical figure, ever. In that case, I agree.
Alan Brooks| 10.17.10 @ 11:22PM
"Alan, If he did get chisled in Rushmore it would be for his indirect effect on galvanizing a conservative rebirth resulting in saving America from stepping off the cliff into oblivion. This guy has done more to expose the folly of liberalism than ANY historical figure, ever. In that case, I agree."
So God wanted it that way-- His ways are so mysterious even Glenn Beck himself can't figure them?
RacerJim| 10.15.10 @ 10:57AM
Obama is the poster child for clinical Narcissistic Personality Disorder; just one trait of which is being a congenital liar.
If Obama ever gets his likeness on Mt. Rushmore I will remove it with stragetically placed C4, even from my grave. I mean it.
Of course, just like Bill Ayers and his wife Bernadine Dohrn, the I will avoid being convicted of domestic terrorism via a legal technicality and be openly unrepentant and wish I had done more.
Rev. Jesse Jackson| 10.15.10 @ 4:17PM
Alan Brooks,
Go back to yesterday's special report, "Internet Freedom Under Siege", where you said that, "God is a woman and Jesus is his daughter." I have a rebuttal there waiting for you.
megapotamus| 10.15.10 @ 5:28PM
Mr Brooks is ignorant of the contemporary line on Mt Rushmore, which is that it is a nationalistic and jingoistic defacement of the landscape, offensive to First Americans and Mother Gaia herself. But if you wanted to knock Teddy Roosevelt off for Barack Hussein Obama, I would consider it a wash.
Occam's Tool| 10.15.10 @ 6:08PM
Obama has done nothing useful for the US; Washington, Jefferson, TR and Lincoln did. Mount Rushmore is a glorious thing; I have seen it. It is not a suitable subject for peurile satire.
Roger O Thornhill| 10.15.10 @ 6:45PM
I have seen it first hand and have no plans on going back!
Alan Brooks| 10.16.10 @ 9:14PM
"I have seen it. It is not a suitable subject for peurile satire."
It is a piece of rock, liking a piece of rock is idolatry.
Margie| 10.16.10 @ 9:27PM
Liking Obama is idolatry.
RCV| 10.17.10 @ 5:56PM
Liking Palin is idiocy.
Margie| 10.17.10 @ 9:11PM
Depends if you prefer brain cells over outward appearance.
Man in an empty suit or a woman well suited.
RCV| 10.17.10 @ 10:34PM
That is indeed the choice! I have no complaints about Palin's outward appearance whatsoever.
Margie| 10.17.10 @ 11:25PM
Ah, but you know what I meant, didn't you you rascally lawyer you.
P.S. And Obama still can't think his way out of a paper bag.
P.P.S. Is that why you voted for him, so that with certitude you can truly say that you are smarter than President Obama?
Alan Brooks| 10.17.10 @ 11:27PM
Exactly, she is a ten physically, a seven mentally.
So we'll give her an eight altogether. However, in that case Clinton was also an eight: a ten on appearance, a ten on brains (Rhodes Scholar), a one on personal morality.
20 20 vision| 10.18.10 @ 8:53AM
Clinton a 10 on apprearance? Freud would have loved you and your mother issues.
Albert| 10.18.10 @ 2:04PM
Worshipping a politician is idolatry, as clearly you do President Bozo. But you have never explained exactly why you worship at the altar of the stoned donkey. What is it about a party of traitors and thieves "led" by a puppet, that excites you? This is indeed a mystery and you offer no explanation. A wise man once said that the only way to look at a politician is DOWN. But then, it might be difficult for you to look at anybody that way.
Oldefarte| 10.16.10 @ 1:56PM
I wish that a huge statue of him [similar to Sadaam's in Iraq which was previously torn down from its concrete base] would be erected in Indonesia, and that he could personally witness/observe same each and every day!!!!!!!!!!
Jeremiah| 10.15.10 @ 8:21AM
Perhaps after Obama's fecklessness has unleashed WWIII, this hideous parody of a prize will finally be treated with the contempt it deserves and be consigned to the ash heap of history.
Alan Brooks| 10.17.10 @ 11:28PM
Obama is a losel?
Are you saying he might be the last black president? if you do not reply, Jeremiah, it will be assumed your unstated reply is "yes"
Even you can be faked out, Jeremiah.
Albert| 10.18.10 @ 2:11PM
'...Jeremiah, it will be assumed your unstated reply is "yes".' Considering you posted this 2 days, 9 hours, and 7 minutes after Jeremiah's post, this would be an unfair assumtion. He may never even see your post to repsond to it. And frankly speaking, the Democrats have faked you out completely. Perhaps you should napalm something with "extreme prejudice" to make yourself feeeeel better.
Jeremiah| 10.15.10 @ 8:27AM
Is there a Nobel Prize for philosophy? And did they give it to whoever coined the banal observation, "Today is the first day of the rest of your life."? Look at the prize for literature. More often than not it goes to some pretentious hack writing incoherent nonsense that, like high school girls, the Nobel committee figures must be deep because it uses such big words and is incomprehensible.
The surprise is not when the Nobel Prize goes to a hack - political, literary or otherwise - but when, like that blind hog stumbling upon the occasional acorn, it goes to somewhat of genuine merit, maturity, depth and seriousness.
Alan Brooks| 10.16.10 @ 9:17PM
Obama is a losel?
Are you saying he might be the last black president?
If you do not reply, Jeremiah, it will be assumed your unstated reply is "yes"
Margie| 10.17.10 @ 11:30PM
Not only is he a losel but he's a colossal losel.
P.S. My husband wants to know if there's any truth to the rumor that Obama is cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs?
And would that mean that he'd have to sneak out back of the White House to eat them as he does with his Newport cigarette breaks?
Louis Jenkins| 10.15.10 @ 9:38AM
More like the prize for stupidity. How that man ever got the prize remains beyond the pale. For some reason there must have been no one else to give to. It is time for the Blow Hard president to give the award back. As the writer has said, he has failed in all of his international policies. Maybe he wants to fail, but at any rate, his name will not go down in history as a shaker and mover. At least in a positive fashion that is. One of my fellow posters says he should be enshirened of Mt. Rushmore. You've got to be kidding.
jstwndring| 10.16.10 @ 4:55PM
I always like to think that when the prize goes to someone like Obama, or, Arafat, that we've apparently run out of human beings.
Cogito Ergo Sum Conservativum| 10.15.10 @ 10:55AM
Good article Mr. Wohlstetter. Unfortunately, the "live in the moment only" leftists refuse to learn from the past and would create a larger shrine for Obama if they could. Reference the earlier post from Alan Brooks. Inspite of your logical, rational, and fact referenced column, he would place Obama on Mt. Rushmore.
The "Progressive" faction has no concern for actual results, it is as you said a "Goodist" mindset. They sew destruction while patting each other on the backs, congratulating themselves on how wonderful they are.
Petronius| 10.15.10 @ 10:58AM
Obama got his gong for selling out the West. And now the Nobel Committee is learning that they cannot save face when they have none: or more than one. Westerners look upon pretentious pimps with envy or indifference. Orientals won't stand for their effrontery, deserved or not. To break the shell of this ultra hollow honour by refusing it, Liu would be esteemed most highly among all who value Freedom First.
ncatty| 10.15.10 @ 11:19AM
Mr. Wohlstetter, you have omitted the numerous predator drone strikes.
Senor Mick| 10.15.10 @ 12:57PM
The one who shouls get the Nobel Peace Prize are those guys who pulled out those miners in Chile.
Mojo Risin| 10.15.10 @ 1:59PM
The "Naive Naif Prize" is more in line with its recipients...
Oldefarte| 10.15.10 @ 4:38PM
IMO he deserved a peace prize for stealthly [and in trojun-horse fashion] brainwashing the American voters into believing that he was/is something that he's not, and for therefore getting elected president. That was the biggest CON JOB ever fabricated in the history of mankind!!!!!!!
chris haynes| 10.15.10 @ 6:21PM
One needs to understand this is about the tony high- end slef righteous liberals who run Nobel.
Vice President Biden nailed it. President Obama is President Obama becuase he is the first African American who is articulate bright and clean and good looking too.
The prize was just a bit of demeaning, patronizing, and embarassing affirmative action. That's why the President was so insulting to his hosts when he went to Norway to accept it.
Dave Williams| 10.15.10 @ 8:16PM
Oldefarte, I don't disagree that the 2008 election was a con job supreme....but IMHO, it's several orders of magnitude less that Christianity. The bible DOES say that Christ would be back before many witnesses would've passed away...the world STILL waits...tap tap tap...
OneOut| 10.16.10 @ 7:55AM
What purpose does your off topic dribble add here?
Simply because your limited opinion of what constitutes "many", differs from that of an eternal being doesn't make your opinion valid.
What it does do, is expose the fact that you would be better off by keeping your opinions to yourself and not expose the simplemindedness that constitutes your thought process.
jstwndring| 10.16.10 @ 5:12PM
No. It doesn't. It says the generation that witnesses the rebirth of Israel as a nation would not pass. That happened on May 14, 1948. That's the Greatest Generation here in the states. It also includes the Baby Boomers. So, either. I've also read that it may in fact be describing the day that the Jews recaptured Jerusalem. If so, that would include Gen-Xers. Either way, if true, we're getting close.
The other thing that needs pointed out to you, is that the Bible says that in the last days, scoffers (like you) would come mocking the prediction of Jesus' return, saying (paraphrasing), Where is he? Life continues on as always and he's not back. So, thank you, thank you, thank you, for helping, unwittingly, to fullfill prophecy. :)
Tony in Central PA| 10.15.10 @ 8:51PM
As long as we're discussing " Do - Goodists " let's not forget Nobel Laureate Al Gore. The person who lost to Gore, a Polish woman named Irina Sendler was somebody who managed to do a lot of good in the face of the Nazi horror of the Warsaw ghetto.
The people at the Nobel Prize should be thanked for reminding us again about what's wrong with the world.
J.C.Eaton| 10.16.10 @ 1:24PM
I wonder. If he could, Would Big Al Nobel come back with a ton and a half of that explosive material that funds all this witless awarding and use it to blow the joint to the Perdition it deserves.
Baraoke Hussein Obama| 10.16.10 @ 4:21PM
How could they award that prize to someone who doesn't have a birth certificate?
jstwndring| 10.16.10 @ 5:20PM
They love me! THEY REALLY LOVE ME!!!!!
***description of the self-absorbed left***
Dacron Mather| 10.18.10 @ 5:14PM
Brett Stephens deserves the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, for coming up with more dynamite non-sequeturs than any journal this side of , er, this one.
jacky | 3.30.11 @ 4:24AM
The one who shouls get the Nobel Peace Prize are those guys who pulled out those miners in Chile.
jacky | 3.30.11 @ 4:24AM
The one who shouls get the Nobel Peace Prize are those guys who pulled out those miners in Chile.
jacky | 4.6.11 @ 3:51AM
UGG 5817 Style Women Boots
UGG 5818 Style Women Boots