Obama Accepts Nobel, Says He Understands Cost of War (Update3)
2009-12-10 15:22:40.62 GMT
(Adds Obama remarks on climate in 19th, 20th paragraphs.)
By Julianna Goldman
Dec. 10 (Bloomberg) -- President Barack Obama said he was
humbled to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize and used his
acceptance speech to defend the concept of a "just war" that
is necessary to further the cause of freedom and human rights.
"Compared to some of the giants of history who have
received this prize -- Schweitzer and King; Marshall and Mandela
-- my accomplishments are slight," he said during the Nobel
ceremony in Oslo. "But perhaps the most profound issue
surrounding my receipt of this prize is the fact that I am the
commander-in-chief of a nation in the midst of two wars."
Obama said he has an "acute sense" of the price of
military conflict at a time when he is deploying thousands of
troops into battle. "Some will kill. Some will be killed," he
said.
The Nobel ceremony in Oslo comes a little more than a week
after the president announced deployment of 30,000 more U.S.
troops to Afghanistan. He also is winding down the U.S. military
commitment in Iraq even as terrorist violence continues.
"I do not bring with me today a definitive solution to the
problems of war," Obama said. "We must begin by acknowledging
the hard truth that we will not eradicate violent conflict in
our lifetimes."
While expressing appreciation for the non-violent creed
preached by Martin Luther King Jr. and Mahatma Gandhi, Obama
said that as U.S. leader he can't "be guided by their examples
alone."
Necessary Force
"I face the world as it is, and cannot stand idle in the
face of threats to the American people," Obama said.
Negotiations didn't stop Adolf Hitler and won't stop al-Qaeda,
he said. "To say that force is sometimes necessary is not a
call to cynicism -- it is a recognition of history; the
imperfections of man and the limits of reason."
There are times and events where the use of military force
is "not only necessary but morally justified," he said.
Among recent conflicts, Obama cited the military
intervention in the Balkans, the first Gulf War to drive Iraqi
armed forces under Saddam Hussein out of Kuwait and the U.S.-led
overthrow of the Taliban in Afghanistan after the Sept. 11
attacks. He didn't mention the 2003 invasion of Iraq to topple
Hussein that was undertaken by his predecessor, former President
George W. Bush.
When war is waged, it must be done under universal
standards of conduct, even when the enemy doesn't follow the
same code, Obama said.
Standards for Conflict
"I, like any head of state, reserve the right to act
unilaterally if necessary to defend my nation," he said.
"Nevertheless, I am convinced that adhering to standards
strengthens those who do, and isolates -- and weakens -- those
who don't."
Obama told his audience there are three ways to "build a
just and lasting peace." They include sanctions that "exact a
real price;" the promotion of human rights; diplomacy and
engagement; and economic security and opportunity.
Security doesn't exist, he said, "where human beings do
not have access to enough food, or clean water, or the medicine
they need to survive. "The absence of hope can rot a society
from within."
Obama also said the world must come together to confront
climate change.
"There is little scientific dispute that if we do nothing,
we will face more drought, famine and mass displacement that
will fuel more conflict for decades," Obama said.
'Cooperative Climate'
While Obama is the third sitting U.S. president to win the
prize, he's the first to win it so early in his term. Former
presidents Theodore Roosevelt won in 1906 and Woodrow Wilson won
in 1919. Former President Jimmy Carter won in 2002 and former
Vice President Al Gore received it in 2007, both after leaving
office.
Thorbjoern Jagland, chairman of the five-member Nobel
committee, said the awarding of the Peace Prize this year "must
be viewed in the light of the prevailing situation in the world,
with great tension, numerous wars, unresolved conflicts and
confrontations on many fronts."
Obama "has been trying to create a more cooperative
climate which can help reverse the present trend," Jagland said
in the text of his remarks at the ceremony. "It is now, today,
that we have the opportunity to support President Obama's ideas.
This year's prize is indeed a call for action to all of us."
The president arrived in Oslo early today and went directly
to the Nobel Institute where he signed a guest book in a room
with walls covered with photographs of former laureates
including slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.
The president said he and first lady Michelle Obama were
touched by the wall of pictures.
"When Dr. King won his prize, it had a galvanizing effect
around the world, but also lifted his stature in the United
States in a way that allowed him to be more effective," Obama
said.
For Related News and Information:
For TOP news TOP <GO>
For Nobel news NI NOBEL <GO>
--With assistance from Marianne Stigset in Oslo and Roger
Runningen in Washington. Editors: Joe Sobczyk, Brigitte
Greenberg.
To contact the reporter on this story:
Julianna Goldman in Washington at +1-202-654-4304 or
jgoldman6@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Jim Kirk at +1-202-654-4315 or
jkirk12@bloomberg.net;
2009-12-10 15:22:40.62 GMT
(Adds Obama remarks on climate in 19th, 20th paragraphs.)
By Julianna Goldman
Dec. 10 (Bloomberg) -- President Barack Obama said he was
humbled to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize and used his
acceptance speech to defend the concept of a "just war" that
is necessary to further the cause of freedom and human rights.
"Compared to some of the giants of history who have
received this prize -- Schweitzer and King; Marshall and Mandela
-- my accomplishments are slight," he said during the Nobel
ceremony in Oslo. "But perhaps the most profound issue
surrounding my receipt of this prize is the fact that I am the
commander-in-chief of a nation in the midst of two wars."
Obama said he has an "acute sense" of the price of
military conflict at a time when he is deploying thousands of
troops into battle. "Some will kill. Some will be killed," he
said.
The Nobel ceremony in Oslo comes a little more than a week
after the president announced deployment of 30,000 more U.S.
troops to Afghanistan. He also is winding down the U.S. military
commitment in Iraq even as terrorist violence continues.
"I do not bring with me today a definitive solution to the
problems of war," Obama said. "We must begin by acknowledging
the hard truth that we will not eradicate violent conflict in
our lifetimes."
While expressing appreciation for the non-violent creed
preached by Martin Luther King Jr. and Mahatma Gandhi, Obama
said that as U.S. leader he can't "be guided by their examples
alone."
Necessary Force
"I face the world as it is, and cannot stand idle in the
face of threats to the American people," Obama said.
Negotiations didn't stop Adolf Hitler and won't stop al-Qaeda,
he said. "To say that force is sometimes necessary is not a
call to cynicism -- it is a recognition of history; the
imperfections of man and the limits of reason."
There are times and events where the use of military force
is "not only necessary but morally justified," he said.
Among recent conflicts, Obama cited the military
intervention in the Balkans, the first Gulf War to drive Iraqi
armed forces under Saddam Hussein out of Kuwait and the U.S.-led
overthrow of the Taliban in Afghanistan after the Sept. 11
attacks. He didn't mention the 2003 invasion of Iraq to topple
Hussein that was undertaken by his predecessor, former President
George W. Bush.
When war is waged, it must be done under universal
standards of conduct, even when the enemy doesn't follow the
same code, Obama said.
Standards for Conflict
"I, like any head of state, reserve the right to act
unilaterally if necessary to defend my nation," he said.
"Nevertheless, I am convinced that adhering to standards
strengthens those who do, and isolates -- and weakens -- those
who don't."
Obama told his audience there are three ways to "build a
just and lasting peace." They include sanctions that "exact a
real price;" the promotion of human rights; diplomacy and
engagement; and economic security and opportunity.
Security doesn't exist, he said, "where human beings do
not have access to enough food, or clean water, or the medicine
they need to survive. "The absence of hope can rot a society
from within."
Obama also said the world must come together to confront
climate change.
"There is little scientific dispute that if we do nothing,
we will face more drought, famine and mass displacement that
will fuel more conflict for decades," Obama said.
'Cooperative Climate'
While Obama is the third sitting U.S. president to win the
prize, he's the first to win it so early in his term. Former
presidents Theodore Roosevelt won in 1906 and Woodrow Wilson won
in 1919. Former President Jimmy Carter won in 2002 and former
Vice President Al Gore received it in 2007, both after leaving
office.
Thorbjoern Jagland, chairman of the five-member Nobel
committee, said the awarding of the Peace Prize this year "must
be viewed in the light of the prevailing situation in the world,
with great tension, numerous wars, unresolved conflicts and
confrontations on many fronts."
Obama "has been trying to create a more cooperative
climate which can help reverse the present trend," Jagland said
in the text of his remarks at the ceremony. "It is now, today,
that we have the opportunity to support President Obama's ideas.
This year's prize is indeed a call for action to all of us."
The president arrived in Oslo early today and went directly
to the Nobel Institute where he signed a guest book in a room
with walls covered with photographs of former laureates
including slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.
The president said he and first lady Michelle Obama were
touched by the wall of pictures.
"When Dr. King won his prize, it had a galvanizing effect
around the world, but also lifted his stature in the United
States in a way that allowed him to be more effective," Obama
said.
For Related News and Information:
For TOP news TOP <GO>
For Nobel news NI NOBEL <GO>
--With assistance from Marianne Stigset in Oslo and Roger
Runningen in Washington. Editors: Joe Sobczyk, Brigitte
Greenberg.
To contact the reporter on this story:
Julianna Goldman in Washington at +1-202-654-4304 or
jgoldman6@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Jim Kirk at +1-202-654-4315 or
jkirk12@bloomberg.net;
--
-----
Bertrand Clausell Wanclik (GMAIL)
http://trendsniffer.blogspot.com
http://kuizine.blogspot.com
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/0/b55/631
+55 11 9955-6390
__________________________________
Sent from São Paulo, Brasil
Ted Turner - "Sports is like a war without the killing."
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