World hails Obama Nobel Peace Prize win
International figures and leaders congratulate US president for being awarded peace prize.
OSLO - US President Barack Obama's winning of the Nobel Peace Prize stirred Friday a mainly welcoming reaction from international figures and leaders.
The 2008 winner of the Nobel Peace Prize said Friday he believed the Nobel committee had awarded the 2009 prize to US President Barack Obama to "encourage" his Middle East peace efforts.
Former Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari told CNN: "We do not yet have a peace in the Middle East... this time it was very clear that they wanted to encourage Obama to move on these issues...
"This is a clear encouragement to do something on this issue, I wish him good luck."
The Obama administration has demanded a complete freeze to illegal Jewish settlements in the Israeli-occupied occupied Palestinian territories of the West Bank and East Jerusalem. But Israel has so far baulked.
Abbas congratulates Obama
Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas on Friday congratulated Obama for being awarded the Nobel peace prize, saying he hoped a Palestinian state would be created under his presidency, a senior official said.
"President Abbas congratulated President Obama on winning the Nobel Prize," top Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat said.
"The president wished that President Obama will achieve his quest for peace throughout the Middle East by establishing an independent Palestinian state in the 1967 borders with its capital in East Jerusalem," he said.
Arab League chief 'very happy' about win
Arab League chief Amr Mussa said Friday he was "very happy" Obama had won the Nobel Peace Prize and hoped the honour would help boost Middle East peace efforts.
"This is an expression that the world is convinced of what (Obama) talked about in his speeches, whether about nuclear disarmament or his intention to find immediate solutions to the world's problems including the Arab-Israeli conflict," Mussa said by telephone from Libya.
"We hope this prize will help intensify efforts to reach peace in the Middle East and contain negative efforts opposed to peace," he said.
Iraqis: 'Better than Bush' Obama deserves Nobel
Obama deserves the Nobel Peace Prize because he is "better than (George W.) Bush," some Iraqis interviewed said on Friday.
"He (Obama) made America reach out to Islamic and Arabic countries -- he really deserved this prize more than anyone else," said Abu Istabraq, a 45-year-old security guard for a Baghdad bank.
Obama, he added, deserved the award because he "is better than Bush," referring to former US president George W. Bush, under whose leadership Iraq was invaded in 2003.
Kadim Hussain, speaking in Khilani Square in central Baghdad, said that the prize was "good for the Iraqi people" as well as for Obama.
"We hope that he will deliver on the promises he has made to the Iraqi people about pulling (US forces) out, and helping the Iraqi people and the Iraqi government."
"Obama really is a man of peace, and he really deserves this prize because he is working to complete the withdrawal of American troops from Iraq, and is not planning to intervene in other countries' affairs," 42-year-old Mohammed al-Hasnawi said.
ElBaradei: Obama 'rekindled hope for a world at peace'
The UN's nuclear watchdog chief Mohamed ElBaradei said Friday he was "absolutely delighted" that Obama had been awarded this year's Nobel Peace Prize.
"In less than a year in office, he has transformed the way we look at ourselves and the world we live in and rekindled hope for a world at peace with itself," the director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said in a statement.
"I cannot think of anyone today more deserving of this honour," added ElBaradei, who himself won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2005 with the IAEA.
Since taking office on January 20, "President Obama has brought a new vision of a world based on human decency, fairness and freedom which is an inspiration to us all," the IAEA chief said.
"He has shown an unshakeable commitment to diplomacy, mutual respect and dialogue as the best means of resolving conflicts.
"He has reached out across divides and made clear that he sees the world as one human family, regardless of religion, race or ethnicity," he added.
ElBaradei also praised Obama's stance on nuclear issues.
"President Obama has provided outstanding leadership on moving towards a world free of nuclear weapons," he said.
Obama signalled in April that he would seek Senate ratification of the treaty, reversing the stance of George W. Bush's administration.
Iran: win should push Obama to help end world injustice
The Nobel Peace Prize awarded to Obama Friday should prompt him to start working towards ending injustice in the world, an aide to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said.
"We hope that this gives him the incentive to walk in the path of bringing justice to the world order," said Ali Akbar Javanfekr, Ahmadinejad's media aide.
"We are not upset and we hope that by receiving this prize he will start taking practical steps to remove injustice in the world."
In particular, Javanfekr outlined two areas where he said Obama must act to prove he is worthy of the prize.
"If he removes the veto from the United Nations Security Council, then it shows the prize was given correctly to him," Javanfekr said.
Javanfekr also said Obama "has to say what he has done to narrow the gap between the haves and have nots in the United States and in the nations under US influence.
He must also show "that the United States has decided not to throw away its wheat surpluses but give them to African nations."
Bangladesh's Yunus: Obama win 'powerful message'
Bangladeshi economist Muhammad Yunus said Friday the Nobel committee had sent a "powerful message" to the world by naming Obama the 2009 recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize.
Yunus, who along with his Grameen Bank won the peace prize in 2006 for lifting people out of extreme poverty in Bangladesh, said Obama represented hope around the world and had "changed the leadership of the world."
"Barack Obama has taken the world and put it back on the right track, in terms of nuclear disarmament, in terms of bringing peace in Iraq and in terms of multilateral diplomacy," the 69-year-old Yunus said.
"He has excited the young people of the world. There's now meaning and direction for the world," Yunus said.
"It's an endorsement of him and the direction he is taking. It's as much about what he will achieve as what he has already achieved. It's a powerful message that the peace prize has given."
In August, Obama presented Yunus with the Presidential Medal of Freedom during a ceremony in Washington.
Tutu praises 'wonderful' choice of Obama for Nobel
- Archbishop Desmond Tutu on Friday praised the "wonderful" decision to award Obama the Nobel Peace Prize.
"It is a very imaginative and somewhat surprising choice. It is wonderful," Tutu told reporters.
"He has had a very significant impact. It (his presidency) has changed the temperature and almost everybody feels a little more hopeful about the world," he said.
Tutu won the Nobel prize in 1984 for his long battle for a non-violent end to South Africa's apartheid system of racial segregation.
He is still considered as the voice of the nation's conscience and is active in promoting peace around the world.
EU: Nobel award encouragement for peacemakers
European Commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso on Friday congratulated Obama on his Nobel peace award, saying it would encourage people hoping to build a safer world.
"The award of the prize to President Obama, leader of the most significant military power in the world, at the beginning of his mandate, is a reflection of the hopes he has raised globally with his vision of a world without nuclear weapons," Barroso said in a statement.
"This award is an encouragement for engagement by all those who can contribute to bring about a safer world.
"It is also a recognition of the expectations created everywhere by President Obama's determination to work closely with the United States' partners to shape global responses to the global challenges we face today," he said.
Sarkozy: Obama Nobel marks US return to world favour
Obama's Nobel Peace Prize marks "America's return to the hearts of the people of the world," French President Nicolas Sarkozy said Friday.
Sarkozy congratulated Obama and said the Nobel Committee had recognised his "determined commitment to human rights, justice and the promotion of peace in the world, in accordance with the will of founder Albert Nobel."
The prize also "does justice to your vision of tolerance and dialogue between states, cultures and civilisations," said Sarkozy in a letter to Obama, released by his office.
Uighur leader: Nobel prize raises Obama expectations
The Nobel Peace Prize will raise expectations for Obama to stand up for human rights around the world, exiled Uighur leader Rebiya Kadeer said Friday.
Kadeer, who has often been tipped for the prestigious prize for her fight on behalf of the Chinese minority group, offered congratulations to Obama.
"I am very happy that he got it. Now he has to do something with the award. It raises expectations on him to stand up for oppressed nations," she said.
"Uighurs are getting killed even know. With the award, he should know how to talk to dictatorships like China," said Kadeer, head of the World Uighur Congress who lives in exile in the Washington area.
Kadeer, who spent six years in a Chinese prison, has become a top nemesis to Beijing for her campaign on behalf of the Muslim Uighur community based in the western Chinese region of Xinjiang.
Some 200 people died in Xinjiang in July in China's worst ethnic bloodletting in decades that pitted Uighurs against China's majority Han.
Carter: Obama Nobel win 'bold statement' of support
Former US president Jimmy Carter said Friday that Obama's Nobel Peace Prize win was a "bold statement of international support" for his foreign policy approach.
"I congratulate President Obama on being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize today," said Carter, himself a Nobel Peace Prize winner in 2002.
"It is a bold statement of international support for his vision and commitment to peace and harmony in international relations. It shows the hope his administration represents not only to our nation but to people around the world," the former US president said.Afghanistan's Taliban mocked the award, saying Obama should get a Nobel prize for violence instead.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said it was absurd to give a peace award to a man who had sent 21,000 extra troops to Afghanistan to escalate a war.
'The Nobel prize for peace? Obama should have won the 'Nobel Prize for escalating violence
he told Reuters by telephone from an undisclosed location. and killing civilians','
Obama is considering a request from his top commander in Afghanistan to send him at least 40,000 more troops.
The Palestinian movement Hamas said the award was premature at best. "Embarrassing 'Joke"
Issam al-Khazraji, a day laborer in Baghdad, said of Obama:
'He doesn't deserve this prize. All these problems - Iraq, Afghanistan - have not been solved . . . man of 'change'
hasn't changed anything yet.'
Liaqat Baluch, a senior leader of the Jamaat-i-Islami, in Pakistan, called the award an embarrassing 'joke'.
Cuba's Fidel Castro hails Barack Obama's Nobel peace prize
Cuba's Fidel Castro is the latest world leader to opine on the controversial award of the Nobel peace prize to President Barack Obama.
Rush Limbaugh, the conservative talk-show host, was as outspoken as ever. "Can you imagine, folks, how big Obama's head is today?" he asked listeners. "I think it's getting so big that his ears actually fit." He said the award was evidence the Nobel committee simply wanted America "neutered," and an attempt "to emasculate the United States".
Others joked that the Nobel committee had lower standards than the TV comedy show Saturday Night Live, which recently poked fun at Mr Obama for his lack of accomplishments. Even Arizona State University, declined to award him an honorary degree, when he was a guest speaker - because of his inexperience.
For Republicans, Obama Nobel win undeserved
Republicans reacted with skepticism, suspicion and even anger Friday to news that Obama had been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele called the win "unfortunate" and accused Obama of having celebrity status but no "real achievements" that merited the award.
"The real question Americans are asking is, 'What has President Obama actually accomplished?'" Steele said in a statement.
"It is unfortunate that the president's star power has outshined tireless advocates who have made real achievements working towards peace and human rights," Steele said.
Conservative talkshow host Rush Limbaugh went further, telling Politico newspaper: "This fully exposes the illusion that is Barack Obama."
He said the award was an attempt by "the elites of the world" to stop Obama from sending more troops to Afghanistan and dealing forcefully with Iran's nuclear program.
"They love a weakened, neutered US and this is their way of promoting that concept," he said in an email to Politico.
Fellow conservative commentator Glen Beck, host of a popular show on Fox News, posted his response to Obama's win on micro-blogging site Twitter.
"Nobel Prize committee awards its 1st 'participation' trophy," he tweeted.
Barack Obama’s Teleprompter: Big Guy says Bill Clinton called and was gracious in defeat; offered to fly Kanye West over 4 the Nobel awards ceremony.
Erick Erickson: Obama is becoming Jimmy Carter faster than Jimmy Carter became Jimmy Carter.
Ana Marie Cox: Apparently Nobel prizes now being awarded to anyone who is not George Bush.
Headline over AP analysis by White House correspondent Jennifer Loven: He Won, But For What?
Kathryn Jean Lopez, National Review: I want to buy the world a coke.
Ezra Klein: Obama also awarded Nobel prize in chemistry. "He's just got great chemistry," says Nobel Committee.
Adam Bromberg, CRC: Nobel Prize Committee must be staffed by out of work comedy writers.
Kristina Hernandez, CRC: It was the Beer Summit that put Obama over the edge.
- George Stephanopoulos
The world community wants nothing more than a weak, contrite America. And Obama is delighted to give it to them.
Unfortunately, we have to live with the consequences of Obama:
The constant lying.
The staggering arrogance.
The dangerous narcissism.
The astounding incompetence.
Consistently, polls show that 50 percent of Americans strongly disapprove of the way he is performing as our president -- the fastest decline of any president in modern history. Americans know Obama best.
Let's continue to stand strong against Obama in every way and get Congress out of the hands of the insane Pelosi and Reid in 2010.
Obama is a smug, smirking con man. Nothing more.
IN a time when the world is a more dangerous place and the president appears disengaged with foreign affairs, the Norwegians have done it again. First Al Gore, then Jimmy Carter, and now Barack Obama. Nobel peace prizes gone wild!
Ostensibly, the Obama Nobel Peace Prize was awarded for “extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples.” Read all about it here and here and here.
Laughably, Barack Obama was nominated for the award in February 2009, just two weeks into his presidency. The voting occurred in June, just four months into the Obama era.
And as Saturday Night Live spoofed so well last week, Barack Obama has done virtually nothing in his presidency even today. Obama had done nothing tangible that anyone is aware of and nothing specific that the Nobel Peace Prize Committee could cite.
Indeed the world is a far more dangerous place since he took office. Whether that is his fault or bad luck, the facts speak for themselves.
Iran is saber-rattling again, apparently taking advantage of the young president just like the Soviet Union exploited Kennedy. North Korea is firing missiles over Japan. There is no progress in Lebanon or among the Palestinian peoples. Eastern Europe feels more threatened now, while Russia and China are emboldened.
The United States remains embroiled in two foreign wars, with a proposal on the table to deepen our involvement in the Afghanistan operation. Iraq is now peaceful but that is due to George Bush policies. Barack Obama argued for a pullout, uncaring about the bloody revolution that would have followed in Iraq.
Where is the peace, Obama?
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