Still a war of necessity?

An idealist, Jawaharlal Nehru hoped to transform a predominantly agricultural Indian economy into a modern industrial nation based on the tenets of socialism, but when it came down to translating thought into concrete action and policy implementation, he failed miserably. Yet we tend to venerate him as our divine leader.
Similarly US President, Barack Obama, a visionary leader, had been elevated by the Obama cult to a godlike, superhero status in the global political arena. Just when we thought that his international sheen was wearing off, following his failure to win the 2016 Olympics seat for Chicago, he receives the world's most prestigious award for a political leader, the Nobel Prize for Peace. A prize meant to reward concrete behavior and action in the promotion and achievement of world peace, given to someone placed in the hands of a man who has been in power for less than nine months, a man who has yet to achieve all that he has promised.
Intended to honor Obama for altering the course of American diplomacy through extraordinary personal initiatives in the international arena and for hastening the journey towards nuclear disarmament, this award actually showcases flaws in the US administration’s agenda. Apart from the lack of actual accomplishments, some of the policies Obama has presided over are the very opposite of peace.
The detention camps in Guantanamo Bay which he promised to close as soon as he assumed office are still open, torture and assassinations continue, and the war in Iraq has not been wound down. In fact, US soldiers are still in Iraq, and their bases are likely to remain there for some more time. And the war in Afghanistan continues unabated, with President Obama actually sending in more troops. More people are being killed, both Afghans and NATO soldiers, with the war now being escalated into Pakistan.

Civilian deaths in US airstrikes overshadow Obama’s summit on Afghanistan. Earlier this year, Obama ordered the dispatch of 21,000 additional troops to Afghanistan and has authorized the continued use of unmanned drones for attacks on militants in Afghanistan and Pakistan, a strategy devised by the Bush administration. The attacks often kill or injure civilians living in the area. On Friday, the day the award was announced, Obama was to meet with his top advisers to consider a request by Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the U.S. commander in Afghanistan, to send as many as 40,000 more troops to Afghanistan as the U.S war there enters its ninth year. These will be in addition the huge number of private security contractors who already work for the Pentagon, responsible for much of the mayhem and the slaughter of innocent Afghan civilians.



“I don't think Obama deserves this. I don't know who is making all these decisions. The prize should go to someone who has done something for peace and humanity," said Ahmad Shabir, 18-year-old student in Kabul. "Since he is the president, I don't see any change in U.S. strategy in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.”
A UN report has stated that 338,000 Afghan infants are dying annually under the rule of the Obama-led alliance, which permits only $29 per head annually to be spent on medical care for wounded civilians in Afghanistan.
“At home, the man of peace has approved a military budget exceeding that of any year since the end of the Second World War, while presiding over a new kind of domestic repression,” says John Pilger.


Against Iran, Obama is not advocating peace, but urging crippling sanctions that will hurt ordinary Iranians and incubate resentment against America for decades to come. Likewise, Obama’s continued support for autocratic rulers of the Muslim world has convinced many Muslims that Obama is no different than his predecessor, George Bush.
It is true that Obama has inherited these conflicts, not started them. It is also possible that he could bring about their end through action and not merely words. If he accomplishes this task, he would indeed deserve immense credit and a Nobel Peace Prize would be an apt reward. But the truth is, he hasn’t yet achieved any of it. In fact, he is likely to do the opposite by escalating the eight-year occupation of Afghanistan, end up in a dangerous confrontation with Iran and continue to preserve many of the core terrorism policies pursued by Bush that have left a huge stain on America’s image around the world.
Previous s American presidents and politicians have indeed been recipients of this prestigious award. Theodore Roosevelt received it in 1906 for securing a peace deal between Russia and Japan. Woodrow Wilson was honored with the prize in 1919 for his role in the creation of the League of Nations. Martin Luther King was presented with the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964 for his commitment to civil rights for African Americans. Now, in 2009, it’s the turn of the forty-fourth President of United States. Having failed to distinguish hope from achievement, the Norwegian Nobel Committee have been naïve and deluded in honoring Obama with such a prize. Obama is no superman, and there is no guarantee that he will deliver. The world of politics is too grubby for one man to change it - that too, in less than a year!