Nobel committee aims to push Obama toward peace
- Source: Global Times
- [21:59 October 11 2009]
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Illustration: Liu Rui
By Ding Gang
The Scandinavians finally have an opportunity to express their hopes for America.
Although US President Barack Obama has been in office hardly more than 10 months, and hasn't yet found his feet, the Norwegian Nobel Committee couldn't wait to give him a "big surprise" – the Nobel Peace Prize.
Of course, it is not that the judges have taken leave of their collective senses or forgot their obligations, but that they are expressing an ardent yearning for a US that acts toward world peace.
Scandinavians, like many others, have been dissatisfi ed with US foreign policy for a long time, especially with decisions on nuclear disarmament, environmental protection, and climate change. A Norwegian once complained that, "New York City's carbon dioxide emissions alone are already higher than the whole of Norway. But look at the Bush administration! How can the US brush aside the Kyoto Protocol? How could such a country lead the world?"
Today, Obama finally won back Scandinavian favor for the US. During the New Deal, President Roosevelt tried to learn from the Swedish model. Similarly, as soon as Obama took office, he attempted to adopt some new deals that more or less bear the stamp of European socialism.
