America Deserves 'Nobel War Prize': Thawra Al Wada, Syria

Allowing the Rest of the World to Speak Directly to Americans
Promoting Peace, Diplomacy and Cross-Cultural Understanding.

Home

Archives

About Us

Non-U.S. Newspapers

In spite of major advances in life and the appearance of dozens of children oriented cable channels, the traditional and class

[El Universal, Mexico]

Thawra Al Wada, Syria

America Deserves 'Nobel War Prize'

Has President Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize for rejecting decades of American foreign policy? According to this article from Syria's state-controlled Thawra Al-Wada, Obama must now earn his award by, among other things, removing "political, military and economic protection for the Zionist enemy."

By Khalaf Ali Al Moftah

Translated By Nicolas Dagher

October 13, 2009

Syria - Thawra Al-Wada - Original Article (Arabic)

Chairman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, Thorbjoen Jagland, shocks the world and apparently the U.S. president himself, by announcing that Barack Obama is the winner of the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize.

BBC NEWS VIDEO: Nobel Peace Prize awarded to President Obama for 'his extraordinary efforts to strengthen global diplomacy and co-operation between peoples,' Oct. 9, 00:01:30

The Swedish Academy awarded this year’s Nobel Peace Prize to President Barack Obama, leaving many surprised - including the American president himself. Perhaps the source of the surprise is that Obama hasn't actually made any breakthroughs on the ground with regard to world peace. But it certainly isn’t the first time that an American President has been awarded the Prize, since President Jimmy Carter won for his role in signing a so-called peace treaty between Egypt and the Zionist entity.

[Editor's Note: The author makes a common mistake by assuming the Nobel Peace Prize is awarded by the Swedes. For reasons unknown, Alfred Nobel, the creator of the Nobel Prize, designated Sweden as the custodian of all Nobel Prizes except one - the Peace Prize. That honor went to neighboring Norway. Some surmise that Sweden's militaristic traditions had something to do with this.]

In any case, there are only two contexts that account for Obama's Nobel. The first is the political discourse adopted by President Obama after he took command of the most powerful country in the world. That discourse was an almost a complete break with that adopted by the United States since the period following World War II, which was based on force or the threat force in its political dealings with the rest of the world.

That was an impression reinforced by the six major wars America launched during this period, which resulted in more victims than World War I. These wars were the Korean War, 1950 to 1953; the Vietnam War, 1964 to 1975; the First Gulf War, whish ran from 1991 until the invasion of Iraq in 2003; and the invasion of Afghanistan in between. I won't mention the wars that it began or encouraged, such as the Iran-Iraq War and wars in Latin America and Africa - which would amount to over thirty wars.

In a nutshell, this means that the United States can be classified as the world champion in war, and if there were a Nobel Prize for this distinction - it would have won going away long ago.

The second context that would allow for Obama's win, and in my view the more likely one, is the way the American President has pushed for the adoption of a practical process for achieving toward world peace. He has been moving away from intentions to practical application by translating his views into courageous decisions.

Those decisions will demonstrate his integrity and his capacity to determine the character and direction of American policy, starting with withdrawing from Iraq and Afghanistan, and the removal of political, military and economic protection for the Zionist enemy in order to force it to respond to the demands of the peace process and halt its barbaric aggression against the Palestinian people.

Without a doubt, the American President is also required, due to his standing and the important international role played by the United States, to come up with a new concept for America's political culture based on dialogue rather than the language of force; mutual interests rather than the supreme interests of the United States; and respect for international law rather than the use or threatened use of its U.S. Security Council veto.

President Obama is capable of earning his Nobel Prize by making it a message of peace and atonement from America to the world. This would allow many of the world's people, particularly those who have suffered from America's wars, to enjoy peace and security after years of oppression, murder and pain.

SEE ALSO ON THIS:

El Universal, Venezuela: 'Peace Prize' Winner Should Close All U.S. Military Bases

Kitabat, Iraq: Barack Obama ... Bird of Peace!

Dagens Nyheter, Sweden: The Norwegians 'Got Carried Away' with Obama

Le Figaro, France: America Itself, Not Obama, Deserves the Nobel Peace Prize

Dernieres Nouvelles d'Alsace, France: Peace Prize Could Cripple Young President

Le Monde, France: One Must Not Misinterpret Obama's Nobel!

Le Temps, Switzerland: Has Nobel Committee 'Fallen on its Head?'

Corriere della Sera, Italy: Is Obama's Nobel Just to Repudiate George W. Bush?

Sato, Portugal: President Obama's Nobel - Can He Fulfill World's Expectations?

Rue 89, France: Nobel 2009: Obama a (Premature) Icon of Peace

Kayan, Iran: 'Traitorous African Murderer' Wins 2009 Nobel Peace Prize!