Obama gave a speech in Oslo after accepting the Nobel Peace Prize. In his speech, he acknowledges the controversy surrounding him being awarded the prize, and states that there are many people who are more deserving of the award than him. Obama then continued speaking on the relation between war and peace and how the world might head into a war-free era.
Speaking of his decision to increase the number of troops in Afghanistan, Obama states that war and violence will not end in our lives, and "There will be times when nations -- acting individually or in concert -- will find the use of force not only necessary but morally justified." He states that he must live in the real world and face facts, the facts being that non-violence movements will not convince Al-Qaeda to stop their fighting and be friends with us. There exists in the world a strong necessity for military power, as only with power can certain actions be prevented. The presence of a strong American military force in the world can help maintain security and peace and even further the development of democracy in various places.
Obama acknowledged that war is unpopular and that the concept of war is incompatible with the concept of peace. However, he maintained that military might is sometimes necessary and can occasionally be the only solution to a problem. The use of that might, according to Obama, should be strictly controlled and only used in extreme cases. "All nations -- strong and weak alike -- must adhere to standards that govern the use of force." Citing his closure of the Guantanamo Bay prison and his prohibition of torture, Obama claims that even when fighting against those that do not follow the rules, countries like the United States must always abide by those rules, as not following those rules even in the hardest of times would be not honoring them and eventually losing sight of why those rules ever existed in the first place. Obama also claimed that in the large and complex world that now exists, "America cannot act alone. America alone cannot secure the peace." A nation cannot impose its own will on the world if the rest of the world does not agree. Consensus must be formed in order to maintain the appearance of an absence of selfish national interests and a disingenuous official agenda hiding some secret ulterior motive.
Obama, quoting the words of President Kennedy, said that a global peace and an end to the necessity of armed might would happen not through "a sudden revolution in human nature but on a gradual evolution in human institutions." He believes that in order to begin that gradual evolution, those countries that flout the law must be dealt with in ways other than violence. Alternatives must be found that can create a significant impact on the misbehaving nation such that the government can feel it. Obama emphasized that sanctions taken against such countries must be strict and consistent, such that a nation will actually believe the global community would go through on its promise in a manner that is actually effective. For Obama, the way to achieve that is through a united front made up of all the world's nations. Citing the situation in places like Iran, North Korea, Darfur, the Congo, and Burma, Obama again said that the international community cannot be lenient; it must be willing to take harsh measures to prevent actions that endanger the global peace, and it must be willing to follow through on those measures and punish those nations if they do not hold up their end of the deal, so that those nations cannot "game the system." Obama stated that, if true peace were to ever exist, articles such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights must truly be universal. There is no excuse to deny humans their rights, and that act of denying will only incite anger among the population that will erupt in violence. Obama further stated that negotiating peace cannot be about gain; the reasoning for doing so cannot be based in some attempt to accrue political capital. Often times, diplomacy with repressive regimes can be seem humiliating and worthless, but diplomacy is needed in order to help these regimes get onto the path of peace.
Obama defined peace as not being limited to a state of no war, stating that "true peace is not just freedom from fear, but freedom from want." He called for nations to not only try and promote human rights and decrease the amount of war, but also to help others in education, and economies, and come together on world-wide threats like climate change, so that the people will be able to have the freedom to enjoy their lives and not be denied any opportunities. He finishes by saying that, although humans are not perfect, we can still attempt to achieve ideals and make the world a better place. People must always hold tight to certain core, 'universal' values, or else peace is lost.
In his speech, Obama attempts to justify his choice in sending more troops to Afghanistan, claiming that it was a necessary step to maintaining peace. The rest of his speech continues to expound that idea, laying the foundation for Obama to justify further unpopular military moves, such as not doing an instantaneous withdrawal from Afghanistan in July of 2011 like some are pretending he will. Other possible future actions that this speech attempted to justify include negotiations with unpopular governments like Iran and North Korea leading to either bending over backwards to get them to concede something meaningful or pushing the government into a corner where they might take radical actions in their desperation. Obama's speech also essentially paints America as a great, wonderful country; one that takes unpopular actions not because of flaws in reasoning and morals, but because of "enlightened self-interest." Obama seems to believe that the world will not achieve true peace until every country is just like America. I'm sure that'll go over well.
Text of the speech can be found here.
4 comments:
Overall, I think Obama is making a good point. He isn't taking any extreme measures by being pro-war or pro-peace. He has his limit and that limit is helping him as we speak. He made the right decision by sending troops to Afghanistan because considering that many, if not all, of the Al-Qaeada members are residing in Afghanistan and using the countries lenient nature to their advantage.
However, I disagree with you Franklin when you say that Obama believes peace will be obtained when the all counties become like America. You are just twisting his words. He does not want that but what he does want is peace and equality. America has both to a certain extent. He does not want other countries to be another America but he wants to help other countries achieve peace and equality. That's what Obama wants.
As for the Nobel Peace Prize, I believe that it was too early in his presidency to award him such a prestigious award but then again, it is helping. He is going out their and talking with North Korea, India, and helping the government of Afghanistan.
All in all, Obama is on the right direction because he has found a middle ground or the balance between peace and war.
~Amreet Aujla
Wow. That was amazing. I have no idea how you managed to achieve that.
Anyways, to the governments of nations like Iran, it certainly sounds like Obama wants them to become more like America. Obama's vision of global peace contains global freedom of religion and restraints on the national government's power so that it cannot repress its people. To the Ayatollahs of Iran, that's a future where the system that they currently run will be replaced by a different system. After all, freedom of religion and Sharia law are not exactly compatible. Coming from the president of the United States, that's certainly going to seem like America wants their system to be less like it currently is and more like the system in America.
Well, thank you for disagreeing with me preemptively. I had no idea how you could have guessed my views from the future. Well, now that my points have already been countered, I see it obsolete to post my views anymore.
I think it is almost implied that Obama, like past presidents believe that peace will be obtained when all countries are like America. I'm not saying that it is necessarily a bad thing to want other countries to be like America, but I do think that it is what the country has been aiming for undernealth it all. The US is sort of pompous, thinking that it's its place to try to "fix" other foreign countires, or start to getting involved with other countires that terrify the rest of the planet. cough cough North Korea. But that all ties back to the idea that this peace and happiness will be obtained once the US shows the world how it's done.
-Jessica Barney
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