US president accepts the Nobel Peace Prize
Obama uses speech to defend the concept of a just war
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President Barack Obama yesterday defended the concept of a just war as he accepted the Nobel Peace Prize in Norway.
The US leader acknowledged he was a controversial recipient, not least because he is the commander-in-chief of a nation fighting two conflicts overseas.
He said the “instruments of war have a role to play in preserving the peace”, during an address in Oslo City Hall which went on to evoke the spirit of Martin Luther King while calling for the world to unite in the fight against global warming, poverty and oppression.
Mr Obama’s 36-minute acceptance address came during a flying visit to Oslo.
Protests had been planned to coincide with the trip, with activists questioning the wisdom of awarding the peace prize to a man who just nine days ago ordered another 30,000 soldiers to Afghanistan.
In his speech, Mr Obama faced his critics head on. He acknowledged there were people “far more deserving” of the award than himself.
Turning to Afghanistan, he said: “I am responsible for the deployment of thousands of young Americans to battle in a distant land.
“Some will kill. Some will be killed. And I come here with an acute sense of the cost of armed conflict, filled with difficult questions about the relationship between war and peace, and our effort to replace one with the other.”
He did not have “a definitive solution” to war, but he said there will be times when nations will find the use of war “not only necessary but morally justified”.
While praising the non-violence of Dr King and Mahatma Gandhi, Mr Obama stated his belief that force was sometimes unavoidable.
He said: “A non-violent movement could not have halted Hitler’s armies. Negotiations cannot convince al Qaida’s leaders to lay down their arms.”
After devoting half of his acceptance speech to a defence of the concept of a just war, the US leader went on to triumph his views of achieving a just peace, acknowledging his efforts to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons. He added: “Those who seek peace cannot stand idly by as nations arm themselves for nuclear war.”
In elaborating on his concept of a just peace, the US leader said it was unstable in places where people are denied basic human rights.
America, he said, would continue to bear witness to the struggle of people such as Aung San Suu Kyi in Burma, reformers in Zimbabwe and protesters in Iran.
A just peace also requires economic security and opportunity, Mr Obama said, adding: “True peace is not just freedom from fear, but freedom from want.”
To this end there needed to be a global response to climate change.
“There is little scientific dispute that if we do nothing, we will face more drought, famine and mass displacement that will fuel conflict for decades,” the president said.
Evoking the words of civil rights leader Dr King, Mr Obama concluded his speech with a call on people to “reach for the world that ought to be, that spark of the divine that still stirs within each of our souls.”
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