http://www.krstarica.com/recnik/srpsko-engleski/index.php
President Obama Wins Nobel Peace Prize
By Scott Wilson and Debbi Wilgoren
Washington Post Staff Writers
Friday, October 9, 2009; 6:23 AM
President Obama was awarded the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize Friday for his
work to improve international diplomacy and rid the world of nuclear
weapons -- a stunning decision to celebrate a figure virtually unknown
in the world before he launched his presidential campaign nearly three
years ago.
The announcement, which drew gasps of surprise from the audience in the
Norwegian capital of Oslo, praised Obama for his "extraordinary efforts
to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples"
during his nine months in office.
The committee singled out for special recognition Obama's call for a
world free of nuclear weapons, which he first made in an April speech in
Prague.
"Only very rarely has a person to the same extent as Obama captured the
world's attention and given its people hope for a better future," the
committee said. "His diplomacy is founded in the concept that those who
are to lead the world must do so on the basis of values and attitudes
that are shared by the majority of the world's population."
Obama, 48, is the third sitting U.S. president--and the first in 90
years--to win the prestigious peace prize. His predecessors won during
their second White House terms, and after significant achievements in
their diplomacy. Woodrow Wilson was awarded the price in 1919, after
helping to found the League of Nations and shaping the Treatise of
Versailles; and Theodore Roosevelt was the recipient in 1906 for his
work to negotiate an end to the Russo-Japanese war.
The committee's decision to chose Obama from among 205 nominees appears
in part to be a rebuke to the Bush administration's unilateral approach
to world bodies and alliances, most notably in its decision to go to war
in Iraq without U.N. approval. It sparked immediate questions from
reporters in Oslo, who noted that Obama so far has made little concrete
progress in achieving his lofty and ambitious agenda.
Thorbjoern Jagland, chairman of the five-member Nobel committee, said
committee members were hopeful that the prize would add momentum to
Obama's efforts as he considers whether to expand the war in
Afghanistan, prepares to withdraw from Iraq, and struggles to build
momentum to restart Israeli-Palestinian peace talks and assemble an
international effort to stop Iran's nuclear program.
At the same time, Jagland said, "We have not given the prize for what
may happen in the future. We are awarding Obama for what he has done in
the past year. And we are hoping this may contribute a little bit for
what he is trying to do."
ad_icon
Jagland specifically cited Obama's speech about Islam in Cairo last
spring, as well as his efforts to address nuclear proliferation and
climate change, and to use established international bodies such as the
United Nations to pursue his goals. The prize "is a clear signal to the
world that we want to advocate the same as he has done to promote
international diplomacy," Jagland said.
"Obama has as president created a new climate in international
politics," the committee said. "Multilateral diplomacy has regained a
central position, with emphasis on the role that the United Nations and
other international institutions can play."
The committee did not mention Obama's status as the first black U.S.
president.
Jagland told reporters that the U.S. president had not been notified of
the award in advance of the announcement, which was made at 11 a.m. in
Oslo (5 a.m. in Washington). There was no immediate comment from the
White House 0fficials, who also appeared to be surprised by the decision.
Friday's announcement came a week after the International Olympic
Committee in Copenhagen rejected Obama's personal appeal to award the
2016 Games to his hometown of Chicago.
Obama and his advisers have described the tenets of his foreign policy
as one emphasizing "mutual interest and mutual respect" and the idea
that global diplomacy functions on the principles of "rights and
responsibilities" of sovereign nations.
"Dialogue and negotiations are preferred as instruments for resolving
even the most difficult international conflicts," the committee said in
its statement. ". . . the USA is now playing a more constructive role in
meeting the great climatic challenges the world is confronting.
Democracy and human rights are to be strengthened."
Former President Jimmy Carter won the 2002 award more than two decades
after leaving the presidency, during which he helped negotiate peace
between Israel and Egypt, the first Arab nation to recognize the Jewish
state. Vice President Al Gore won the 2007 prize along with the United
Nations panel on climate change.
