The Nobel Committee in Norway awarded Obama the Prize for Òhis extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples.Ó
Call it a Virtual Peace, but clearly the distinguished Nobel committee delegates have been impressed by the PresidentÕs rhetoric and tone. But aspirations for peace, nor all the good intentions in the world, donÕt turn swords into plowshares unless of course there is a specific result from his policies. ThatÕs where diplomacy, backed by a credible military deterrent, enter the game.
Commenting on the surprise award, veteran CBS news commentator Bob Schieffer stated, Òthe prize is awarded for results, not for aspirations.Ó
In another sense, it like students aspiring to get an A grade on an exam, but forgetting that it takes work and study to actually earn the grade.
Somehow I donÕt believe for a moment that Obama was courting the Nobel committee or even expecting the Peace Prize. Talk about audacity of hope!
To be sure sitting American Presidents have won the Nobel; Republican Teddy Roosevelt for mediating in ending the Russo/Japanese war in 1905, Democrat Woodrow Wilson in 1919 for founding the League of Nations, and Democrat Jimmy Carter 2002 when out of office, for having mediated or meddled in many things.
But in each of those cases there was a cause and effect. Longstanding and seemingly intractable problems were put on the path to peace by specific and focused efforts. One could make a good case for former President Bill Clinton winning a Nobel for Northern Ireland for example.
Former U.S. Secretary of State Frank Kellogg won the 1929 Nobel for being instrumental in forging the famous Kellogg Briand Pact (1928) which outlawed war Òas an instrument of national policy.Ó The pact earned near gushing approval and enthusiasm and was soon ratified by all the major powers. The virtual reality had ensured peace, but Japan, a signatory to the Pact, soon attacked Chinese Manchuria in 1931, and Nazi Germany invaded Poland a decade later. Somehow the merits of moral suasion were lost on the dictators of the 1930Õs.
Certainly there have been many Nobel prizes which were richly justified; Lech Walesa of Poland , Mother Theresa of Calcutta, and Anwar Sadat and Menacham Begin as well as TibetÕs Dalai Lama. Former Secretary of State George Marshall, as in the Marshall Plan rebuilding post war Europe, won the prize in 1953 The UN has its share too with the institution of UN Peacekeeping earning the 1988 Nobel, and the United Nations and Secretary General Kofi Annan sharing the prize in 2001.
While many Nobel Prizes spark controversy, they equally represent a call to action.
Here President Obama has met his challenge and what could turn out to be a double-edged sword. We can aspire to rid the world of nuclear weapons be they in North Korea or Iran. We can beg the thugs ruling Sudan to allow peace in Darfur. We can shame Somali pirates and Afghan Taliban to come to the Nobel altar of Peace. But this vision, based on the outstretched hand of hope, hardly impresses the dictators and represents virtual reality, not really peace achieved.
