'Obama's Nobel Peace Prize Is An Act Of Faith' (UK Guardian)

[Jackeens]

More No-Bush than Nobel

He may not have done all the work yet, but the Nobel peace prize recognises Obama's imaginative and energetic diplomacy

At first glance, Obama's Nobel peace prize looks like a "Thanks For Not Being Bush" award. The deadline for nominations was, after all, only a couple of weeks after Obama took office and his main achievement at that time was to replace George Bush. Partly for that reason, it may not help the new president very much in his domestic battles. The people who are currently accusing him of betraying American interests to please foreigners will see this award as further proof. Especially as it comes so soon after Al Gore's win.

However, Obama's success so far has been to defuse a good deal of international tension without giving much away. He has simply plucked the low-hanging diplomatic fruit that had dangled for so long above the Bush administration. The arms control agreement with Russia will be technically complex to complete on deadline in December, but it is straightforward in essence. It is in both countries' interests to dispense with hundreds (and eventually thousands) of surplus warheads that are expensive to maintain.

Obama harnessed the task to the long-term vision of a world free of nuclear weapons, which is a cost-free commitment in practice because he conceded it might not happen in his lifetime. But it caught the attention of emerging states without nuclear weapons, whose support is essential to rebuild the tattered nuclear non-proliferation treaty next year.

Abandoning the Bush-era plans for missile defence in eastern Europe, removed a huge obstacle to better relations with Russia, again at arguably little cost to national security. The scheme was untested and there were real doubts over whether it would ever work. The short-range system that will replace it, dependent largely on ship-borne Aegis anti-ballistic missiles, will be more effective against the sort of missiles Iran has, and will not be seen as a serious threat by Russia.

More: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2009/oct/09/obama-nobel-peace-prize