WhhhaaaaaP!
Nothing better to help the inheritor of Imperial American War Machine that is engaged in two foreign wars and is assiduously ignoring years of torturing people to death remember his responsibilities to Peace and to the world than hitting him with a big old Clue Stick with a shiny Gold Medal tied to its end.
Could this affect Obama's current decision on how many Brown People to kill in Afghanistan? On when to finally withdraw the War Machine from Iraq?
We surely hope so, right? Just a little nudge, nudge there from the 'descendants' of the guy who invented dynamite?
And it looks like Obama is accepting it in that spirit, saying he intends to use the award as a "Call to action."
So I applaud the Nobel Committee for this blatantly proleptic choice.Instead of honoring someone for work the have already done in the past....they are striking a blow for Peace in the future.
It is in my opinion a statement to a rather parochial nation that views itself as Exceptional that they have...along with an army, navy and air force engaged in two wars, is assassinating women and children (and alleged terrorists) by remote control, as the largest arsenal of nukes in the world, simply horrific record on war and torture and Human Rights, is the worlds leading arms dealer, AND has a contingent of the most belligerent war mongering fundamentalist religious zealots in a reduced but still WAY too powerful role in it's government....
A responsibility.
America CAN be the most powerful force for peace in the world.
Or it can be...as it has been for the past eight years, the Worlds Biggest War Criminals. Waging illegal Wars of Aggression as they did in Iraq, deciding that it has the power to determine the fate of the people Afghanistan while propping up and illegal government and turning a blind eye to narco-corruption, illegally detaining people ..STILL... in Bagram and Gitmo, and absolutely refusing to comprehensively investigate it own War Crimes.
Yes, hitting the man who is on the verge of deciding just how much America is going to continue to be a worldwide Imperial Bully backed by the worlds biggest nuclear arsenal...while studiously ignoring its VERY fresh War Crimes and Human Rights violations with a Big Ole Clue Stick is a damn good idea, actually.
Even without the crazed and delusional Neo-cons and the Religious Crusaders 0f the Christian Right actually in charge anymore, it cannot be denied (except by Americans) that without a doubt and far and away....
America is THE Biggest threat to World Peace in the 21st Century.
We proved that in Iraq. And when it comes to war, excuses like "well that was Bush" just don't cut it. The other sven billion people in the world have no say in our internal politics, on whether we elect a sociopathic, religious crusading war monger or not. They just have to pay the price....while living everyday with the horrifying fact that the same nation the DID elect George Bush can effectively wipe out all human life on earth with the push of a nuclear button. They, for some reason, don't buy our excuses.
And now...as Obama is in the process of facing the seductive power of America's military power and it starts to try to wrap the temptations of its almost god-like powers around his good intentions. He is now the Most Powerful Man On Earth.
He, like every other President....now has the theoretical power to blow up the planet.
As well as more power than any other person on earth to determine whether this will be a peaceful harmonious planet, or (especially as the battle for dwindling resources like oil and water play out) a war torn hell hole of a planet.
Obama appears to be a good, thoughtful man. History is full of good thoughtful men ...that have been seduced by power and war.
So yeah, giving him a nice shiny medal to remind him of all of that...with the bonus of him admirably receiving it as a call to action on behalf of Peace is a VERY good idea, come to think of it!