I agree with President Obama, that he doesn't deserve the Nobel Peace Prize. He said today, "I do not view it as a recognition of my own accomplishments but rather an affirmation of American leadership on behalf of aspirations held by people in all nations."
Michael Moore, writing at the Huffington Post, is less nuanced than is the President:
The irony that you have been awarded this prize on the 2nd day of the ninth year of what is quickly becoming your War in Afghanistan is not lost on anyone. You are truly at a crossroads now. You can listen to the generals and expand the war (only to result in a far-too-predictable defeat) or you can declare Bush's Wars over, and bring all the troops home. Now. That's what a true man of peace would do.
There is nothing wrong with you doing what the last guy failed to do -- capture the man or men responsible for the mass murder of 3,000 people on 9/11. But you cannot do that with tanks and troops. You are pursuing a criminal, not an army. You do not use a stick of dynamite to get rid of a mouse.
Moore goes on to echo Rep. Grayson, in his criticism of Republicans, denouncing the prize's award:
P.S. Your opposition has spent the morning attacking you for bringing such good will to this country. Why do they hate America so much? I get the feeling that if you found the cure for cancer this afternoon they'd be denouncing you for destroying free enterprise because cancer centers would have to close. There are those who say you've done nothing yet to deserve this award. As far as I'm concerned, the very fact that you've offered to walk into the minefield of hate and try to undo the irreparable damage the last president did is not only appreciated by me and millions of others, it is also an act of true bravery. That's why you got the prize. The whole world is depending on the U.S. -- and you -- to literally save this planet. Let's not let them down.
5 comments:
I love Alan Grayson but I am not (nor is the "whole world") "depending on the U.S. to literally save this planet"!
Perhaps the US could be persuaded to undo their years of laying waste to the planet instead ..... that would be more than enough.
Phil,
You have commented in the past about the ' lack of coverage ' and the effort of the reporters there to actually report on stories and events. I don't think there would be any dispute about what the BIGGEST story in Politics is today. The ADN, on their Politics Page makes no mention of President winning the Nobel Peace Prize. If it's News... you won't find it in the ADN. Alaskans have to read ' blogs ' if they want to be informed I guess. What a poor excuse of a paper.
honestyinGov -- But they did send a reporter and TWO photographers to the Chilkoot bikini contest last winter so they are at least trying! lol
I am hoping the Nobel guys know something we don't about Obama's future plans has he been talking to the UN etc about setting up peacekeepers and aid after he leaves Iraq, Afghanistan both?
Who knows but we do have 20,000 troops dismantling 300 of our army bases in Iraq.
Thats a good start in my book.
President Obama has accomplished a great deal in the last 8 months in foreign policy. He has "reset US foreign policy" (his words), particularly with Russia and with the Muslim world. He has announced these changes in Moscow and in Cairo, leaving behind Washington-centric pronouncements. He has defused border tensions in Europe by removing missile systems from Poland and the Czech Republic. He has remained direct and supportive of democratic efforts in the Republic of Georgia and in the Ukraine. He is bringing troops home from Iraq. He has called for global reductions in nuclear arms. He has shifted the debate about nuclear non-proliferation, including Iran, to the United Nations, thereby creating a global diplomatic effort on Iran and North Korea. In these actions, in redirecting US foreign policy, Obama has received the approval of most of the planet. The Nobel committee has handed our President a substantial recognition for these tremendous positive changes in US foreign policy, and provided him a tool for future accomplishments.
By comparison, we have been treated to another day of watching the extreme-right Republican Party sink into its own dreams of racial and religious domination of our government. On Friday, the Nobel Committee helped clarify the US culture wars as Hope versus the fear-mongering of the far-right.
Post a Comment