On Obama's Nobel Peace Price...

First, I need to establish that I do like president Obama: he seems to understand the complexities of today's political scene, he shows signs that he is aware of the need to balance constructive diplomacy and military power, has good intentions and articulates these intentions very well.

I congratulate him on being awarded the Nobel Peace Price today!

He shares it with an illustrious group of thinkers, activists, organizations who targeted the elusive goal of global peace in an age when war is becoming increasingly dangerous and self-destructive for the entire Planet:

- Jean Henri Dunant, Switzerland. Founder of the International Committee of the Red Cross, Geneva; Initiator of the Geneva Convention (Convention de Genève)
- International Committee of the Red Cross
- Nansen International Office for Refugees
- Albert Schweitzer
- Martin Luther King Jr.
- Andrei Dmitrievich Sakharov
- Amnesty International
- The 14th Dalai Lama (Tenzin Gyatso)
- Nelson Mandela
- Doctors Without Borders
- Jimmy Carter Jr.
- Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change with Albert Arnold ( Al) Gore Jr.

to mention a few - for full listing of Nobel Peace Prize Laureates see: http://nobelprizes.com/nobel/peace/peace.html -

Despite my sympathy with Mr. Obama however, I have to admit my surprise that he was awarded this prestigious price so soon. Although he made 3 high powered, constructive speeches that carry the seed of more comprehensive peace worldwide, he has not accomplished much tangible results yet. The Afghan war is expanding, the news from Pakistan are becoming increasingly uneasy, Iraq is nowhere close to the stability it enjoyed before the US invasion, the Jewish settlements are not frozen on Palestinian Lands, negotiations with Iran barely started and a major war there remains an ever increasing threat, despite a promising start the relationship with Cuba is still not normalized and we could go on with Tibet, North Korea, etc.

I have a strong suspicion that Mr. Obama got this Prize not as much for what he accomplished so far but as an expression of hope and trust of the Nobel Committee in his policy yet to come to full bloom. I root for President Obama that he can grow up to the expectation of the Peace loving World but also see the reality of today's America. He is under tremendous pressure from various interest groups for whom peace is but one element, and not a vital one, of achieving their financial or political goals. These groups don't seem to have any misgiving about sacrificing peace for their perceived, narrow-minded interests.

Mr. Obama has a rough ride ahead if he intends to follow a peaceful path but I wish him clear vision and tenacity to stay on course.