DO THEY NOT OFFER A WARMONGER PRIZE?:

'Obama Must Prove Himself' (Der Spiegel, 12/10/09)

Obama, though, has larger worries. When he steps on stage to receive his prize, he will be facing a world that doesn't quite believe that he deserves it. Never mind that he himself said as much upon being told that he was awarded the Peace Prize. His speech, just days after radically upping the number of US troops in Afghanistan, will surely not be the easiest of his presidency. German papers on Thursday take a closer look at the skepticism and hope that surrounds Obama's Peace Prize honor.

Left-wing Die Tageszeitung writes,

"Did Obama earn the Nobel Peace Prize he will be awarded today in Oslo? The simple, and widely agreed-upon answer is no. After all, the new US president is still conducting a war in Afghanistan and just announced he would escalate the conflict with the addition of 30,000 troops. Many of those in Berlin and other world capitals who once greeted the presidential candidate from the US with jubilation as a new messiah find themselves disappointed with him today."

"But even during his presidential campaign and all his appearances in Europe, Obama made his Afghanistan strategy clear, and made it clear that he wanted help and additional soldiers from Germany…"

"Obama is acting in Afghanistan exactly the way he said he would during the campaign."

Promises not made. Not made promises kept. He said nothing and has done nothing.

Posted by Orrin Judd at December 10, 2009 6:52 AM