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Special Report
A Prize to Die For
Winning the Nobel Peace Prize 2012 may be the surest sign that Europe, the project, is failing.
(Page 2 of 2)
In the 1948 elections in Italy, de Gasperi came from behind to defeat the powerful PCI, Italian Communist Party. The PCF (the French comrades) was not as powerful, but it was kept out of power only by an uneasy alliance of Schumann-led centrists and anti-communist Socialists. In Germany it was somewhat easier for Adenauer, with his strong anti-Nazi and anti-communist credentials, to establish a CDU hegemony that would last well into the 1960s. For these men the pan-European idea was more a matter of mutual help than a blueprint for a technocratic utopia.
Yet that is what the European movement gradually became. From the Coal and Steel Community and the Common Market that, along with massive agricultural and maritime subsidies turned France and Germany, and to a lesser extent Italy, into business partners instead of political and military enemies, through the Treaty of Rome establishing the European Economic Community in the late 1950s and, eventually, the Single Act of the late 1980s establishing the free movement of capital, goods, services, and labor throughout the said Community — soon to be renamed Union — the minutiae of running the sprawling project eventually took over the goal of keeping the peace and resisting the Soviet-led revolution.
Not that peace was not kept. There has been no war in western Europe since 1945. Whether this is due to the evolving European economic unity project or to the presence of American armies in Europe, the experts can discuss and debate. Probably both. There was no reason for Germany and France to go to war, since everyone was getting more prosperous and the Americans were keeping the Soviets out. It is something of a chicken-or-egg question, although, in our more reflective moments, we probably know very well what was keeping the peace, only we are too polite to insist.
The reality is that when the crunch, or the test, came, the European entity, in the very process of evolving from Community to Union, failed the test. War broke out in Europe — specifically, in the Balkans, and the little that was done to stop it was done by NATO troops and, later, the United States Air Force. It was not a very good show, but admittedly it could have been worse and it did end without spreading, as it had in 1914.
There is cause to question, in short, just what this year’s Nobel Peace Prize really is supposed to signify. Are the European institutions, run by an army of bureaucrats concerned with how cheeses are packaged, responsible for the peace that has been achieved in Europe, or are they contributing to a long-term decline of European influence that is leaving the world, including ultimately Europe itself, vulnerable to forces of war and anarchy?
It is difficult to imagine members of the Nobel peace committee waking up at dawn troubled by such questions. They want, one imagines, to congratulate themselves for being who they are, which is to say well-ordered, well-regulated, prim and proper peaceful Oslovians. They are increasingly successful in this endeavor. But this is having the effect of cutting them off from the realities of a very dangerous world outside Oslo and Stockholm and a few other blessedly dull places in northern Europe.
Since receiving the Nobel Peace Prize our president has made the world more, or less, safe, depending on your assessment of his foreign policy, but he certainly has not made it more peaceful, neither by diplomacy nor by the calibrated use of force that would impose respect for our national interests in places far away. In the case of the European movement, it is likely that calling attention to its contributions to peace-making, at a time when it seems unable to come to grips with a broad crisis of entitlements and expectations, is mostly a way to avert one’s eyes from its failures. And this is sad indeed, because if things are not turned around soon, the failure will be seen by future generations as a betrayal: the betrayal of a European vision of free men and free nations, the kind Lech Walesa — Nobel Peace Prize, 1983 — fought for. Europe will be unable to reverse its economic decline and its vulnerability to nihilistic subversion from within and without, and the peace for which it earned accolades and prizes will be the peace of death.
About the Author
Roger Kaplan, a Washington-based writer, covers the Middle East and Africa (and tennis) for The American Spectator.
Letter to the Editor View all comments (43) | Leave a comment
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Darin| 10.15.12 @ 7:08AM
Yet more proof the Nobel Peace prize is useless. Yassar Arafat got it, apparently for wanting peace so much that he murdered thousands of Jews. Barack Obama got it for making speeches (he STILL hasn't done anything to warrant the prize). And now the Eurpean Union gets it for good intentions.
Moe Blotz| 10.15.12 @ 11:24AM
What you have failed to notice, Darin, is that the Nobel Peace Prize is now awarded according to the candidate's appeasement efforts. Results no longer count.
TLP| 10.15.12 @ 7:29AM
All of the Left's Awards are merely an extension of their Effeminate Inner Girl, and one more reason to have a Party with Pretty Boys and Girls like themselves, with the Nobel being the worst of them all.
If these Norwegian Homos' Ancestors were alive today? They would cut them all in twain with their Battleaxes.
If Alfred Nobel were here? He'd Blow them all to Kingdom Come. (And no, Alan. Not that kind of Blowing)
The Oscars. The Emmies. The Tonies. The Pulitzer. The Nobel. It's a wonder no one's gotten Aids from touching these things.
They give the Oscar to the Movies that NOBODY goes to.
To Plays that NOBODY goes to.
The Pulitzers to Papers that NOBODY Subscribes to, and "Reporters" that NOBODY reads.
Nobody, but THEM.
The Uber Rich 1%ers who live in Hollywood, and Manhatten, and Vacation in The Hamptons, at Monaco, and in the South Of France.
They have Homes in London, and Paris, and Italy. Access to Private Jets, Luxurious Yachts, and Palacial Winter Wonderland Chalets, all over the world.
They have Chauffeur Driven Limousines to take them to and from the latest Occupy Protests, where they can express their OUTRAGE that They have Everything, while everyone else in the Crowd has nothing.
"Down with the Rich! Down with the 1%! Down with Me, and everyone I know!"
So, who gives a Fck, what they think?
Give me a RAZZIE, any day.
They can stick all the other ones up their @sses.
Which is probably what they do with these things, anyway.
Albert Constantine Jr.| 10.15.12 @ 8:45AM
"The Pulitzers to Papers that NOBODY Subscribes to, and "Reporters" that NOBODY reads..."
...for stories that they mostly made up..."
TLP| 10.15.12 @ 10:18AM
Actually, I was most proud of - "Down with the Rich! Down with the 1%! Down with Me, and everyone I know!"
Now, where's my RAZZIE?
Albert Constantine Jr.| 10.15.12 @ 8:45AM
"The Pulitzers to Papers that NOBODY Subscribes to, and "Reporters" that NOBODY reads..."
...for stories that they mostly made up..."
TLP| 10.15.12 @ 9:00AM
I heard ya the first time.
Albert Constantine Jr.| 10.15.12 @ 2:08PM
Please pardon me for repeating myself, I was warming up.
And now, ladies and gentlemen, the winning entry of the American Specter (the award statuette in the shape of a ghost with an American flag as part of the robes) is Timothy L. Pennell, for his efforts in increasing the fellowship and awareness of his fellow commenters through the implementation of the weekly contest here. Not only have his efforts helped expand its various contributors’ knowledge and abilities regarding film, poetry and song, and provided entertainment for its participants and spectators, but it has also contributed to the economy in the form of increased purchases of Yuengling and Warsteiner Dunkle, replacement bicycle seats, combs, lingerie and laptop batteries.
Unfortunately, the cash prize that goes with the award has been deemed unearned income by the Obama Administration and taxed at a rate of 100%. Nonetheless, as soon as our Sculptor finishes the Specter statuette, it will be winding its way through the parcel system, in order to properly adorn your mantel.
TLP| 10.15.12 @ 2:25PM
I'm told that the Statuette will be in the Form of Carrie Fischer's Legs, attached to her New Plastic Hips, with her Feet adorned with her Orthopedic Shoes.
That's what I heard.
Albert Constantine Jr.| 10.15.12 @ 3:50PM
All of that, but covered in a ghost like robe...
Occam's Tool| 10.15.12 @ 7:25PM
Be nice, Tim, you know how computers can repeat the post.... :-)
In 2008, in Medscape, I predicted that Europe was a dead man walking and heading toward economic collapse. (I read Steyn, then looked up the numbers myself)
No kids, no social welfare state. This is why Gold is a great investment even if Romney wins---Europe's crash will keep the price up. It's also why I invest in Phillip Morris even though I'm an MD---they sell cigarettes overseas to people I want to poison, and I suspect that they will keep purchasing them for 20 years or so.
John II| 10.16.12 @ 1:39AM
Arthur Koestler wrote a famous essay about Europe in 1946, right after World War II. The opening sentence has a metaphor you'd appreciate, Occie:
"Western Europe is a patient in an iron lung."
If Koestler were still alive, he could start another essay with the same sentence, allowing for a slight adjustment on the medical technology.
Occam's Tool| 10.16.12 @ 10:03PM
No G-d, No kids, No future. A simple trinity. Sad. Also destroying New Zealand.
Hardcard| 10.15.12 @ 8:07AM
Didn't obuma and mr. peanut get the prize enough said.
PCC| 10.15.12 @ 8:26AM
I think Mr. Kaplan is not quite right when he says "Mr. Obama did not ask for it". I may be wrong, but I seem to recall at the time of its awarding to Mr. Obama that nominees to the prize must affirm, several months beforehand, their willingness to accept the prize, should it be bestowed upon them.
PCC| 10.15.12 @ 8:45AM
PCC,
Yet again, I must correct myself after a hasty comment.
While I believe it was reported at the time that Mr. Obama had prior knowledge of his nomination for the Peace Prize, I can find no evidence from an internet search that he was necessarily notified of it beforehand.
TLP| 10.15.12 @ 2:29PM
HE TOOK IT.
That's all you need to know.
I compare that to Napolean CROWNING HIMSELF EMPEROR.
He knew that he didn't deserve it, but he took it, anyway.
That's what a Narccissist does.
John II| 10.15.12 @ 6:16PM
Narcissist, Tim. N-A-R-C-I-S-S-I-S-T. One must observe high standards of spelling when attaching printed labels to dip-shits.
I wish you'd change the time of the contests to Saturdays. I've had several good notions, but not enough time for the composition amid my crowded movie-watching duties.
TLP| 10.15.12 @ 7:11PM
I'm gonna do it this Friday.
Everyone will have until Saturday, 7 pm.
Just for you, Mr. Spellcheck.
John II| 10.16.12 @ 1:27AM
Whoa. I'm honored. And I'll do my best. No papers to grade this coming weekend, and only five flicks to watch. I've got all the time in the world!
Occam's Tool| 10.15.12 @ 7:26PM
John II: You are a peach, you know?
Anthony| 10.15.12 @ 9:13AM
I think the Norweigen Parliment should turn this responsibility over to a group of individuals worthy of the recent nominees.
The women of "The View" are indeed the intellectual superiors of the presently constituted Nobel Committee.
They would have awarded this years Peace Prize to "Slick Willie" Clinton himself, and would have been rewarded by that old whore master with cigars.
TLP| 10.15.12 @ 2:33PM
The Women on the View?
I'm thinking more along the lines of The Little Rascals, Peter Griffen, and Snookie.
Brad| 10.16.12 @ 5:05AM
Is there a difference?
Who Knows?| 10.15.12 @ 10:56AM
What's a Pulitzer Prize?
Moe Blotz| 10.15.12 @ 11:18AM
That would be a trophy awarded to the best preserved jukebox at the annual National Record Player Convention held in Croydon, PA.
TLP| 10.15.12 @ 2:36PM
I think that Moe is confusing the Pulitzer, with the Wulitzer, or John Navritil's Nice Boobies Prize.
John Navratil| 10.15.12 @ 5:17PM
TLP,
Legs!
TLP| 10.15.12 @ 7:12PM
Tits!
TLP| 10.15.12 @ 7:13PM
I've already got Legs.
C. Vernon Crisler | 10.15.12 @ 11:11AM
End the Peace Prize. Barack Obama, nuff said.
james wilson| 10.15.12 @ 12:06PM
May the EU suffer the same fate as Obama and in the same time period.
Tom Kyba| 10.15.12 @ 12:16PM
Leftists presenting awards to other leftists for being good leftists.
Anthony| 10.15.12 @ 1:34PM
Well said. I present to you Dan Rather, recipent of a Peabody Award for his "brillant" journalism on the Bush TANG phony fax story.
"The story is true". So said the horses ass who makes Mr. Ed look like the head of CBS, and Mary Mapes, who makes any woman look good, even Roseanne Barr.
I wonder why Blather didn't get worked up over Obozo phony paperwork? Only kidding, one fraud covering up for another.
Occam's Tool| 10.15.12 @ 7:28PM
You know, I just realized that without Jack, or John 786, that I love you guys. What awesome bloggers. Life's short, and good, despite the asshats. One should express one's appreciation whenever possible. I learned that during my 1st cardiac echo 13 years ago (negative)
Occam's Tool| 10.15.12 @ 8:08PM
The Jewish Nobel 2012: Serge Haroche, physics. He was born in Morocco to French Jews---both sides. Suck on it, Jack in Wi.
Occam's Tool| 10.15.12 @ 8:17PM
Jews also won this year in Economics and Chemistry, both Americans. 3 in 2012 , from a world population of 13 million. No Mainland Chinese, and no Islamists.
8 in 2 years. Almost all of them Americans or Israelis. What a great country the USA is. Imagine what genius would not be doing if mutants like the Cheesehead had his way. (By the way, Green Bay SUCKS this year)
Occam's Tool| 10.15.12 @ 8:20PM
You understand, the only reason I do this tally of Jewish Nobelists is to piss off Red Phillips, Nathan, Jack from Wi., John786, King of the Nuts, and the other worthless antisemitic trolls who post here.
America always does well in the Nobels because it encourages freedom and intellectual inquiry and IS the safest place in the world to be Jewish, the Jews being a people who have a literacy test as their manhood qualification. Encourage Genius and scholarship, and ye shall receive. It is not genetics, it is culture. And America has the best culture in the world for high achievers, still.
Occam's Tool| 10.15.12 @ 8:31PM
The Chinese just won the Nobel Prize in Literature. They win One, the Jews win three. The Jews win them in the sciences that require math.
Albert Constantine Jr.| 10.15.12 @ 8:56PM
Don't forget, there are over a billion Chinese in China alone, so the opportunities for them to place are much higher then your Landsman, which makes the achievement that much more impressive (though I must confess that the only Chinese literature I've ever read came out of a fortune cookie).
Occam's Tool| 10.16.12 @ 1:05AM
Albert: might I strongly suggest renting Red Sorghum, (the first film by Zhang Yimou) followed by Raise the Red Lantern? Red Sorghum was a brilliant film based on a novel by the 2012 Nobelist, and Yimou is a director that I would place in Kurosawa's ballpark.
Will| 10.16.12 @ 1:25AM
You forgot to mention the EU's vital role in transitioning Eastern Europe to democracy after the fall of the Iron Curtain. There was no guarantee that all those states would become democratic and peaceful. Why did the Czechs and Slovaks part so peaceably? Why are the Baltic states at peace when they have such large Russian minorities? Why are Romania and Bulgaria in good shape when they have absolutely no democratic tradition?
EU membership promised (and promises) prosperity to poor countries, due to ease of trade, foreign direct investment, access to credit etc. By dangling the stick of membership in front of former USSR Republics and Warsaw Pact states, the EU ensured that they would turn out democratic, capitalist and peaceful. There was precedent for this in the similar role Europe played in the 70s, bringing Spain, Portugal and Greece away from rightwing military dictatorships.
Given this, I think it perfectly justified that the EU be given the prize, although maybe it would have been more appropriate at the times of Eastern European accession to the club- 1999 or 2004.
Occam's Tool| 10.16.12 @ 10:02PM
No, Will, that was THE MARSHALL PLAN and AMERICAN UNSORDID GENEROSITY that did it.
By the way, Romney kicked Obama's ass in Round 2.