By B. R. Gowani
Yesterday, the United States President Barack Hussein Obama received the Nobel Peace Prize.
His statement: “Terrorism has long been a tactic, but modern technology allows a few small men with outsized rage to murder innocents on a horrific scale” is true for little people, but also for the big powers as the larger scale of violence is amply evident by the US tactics in conducting numerous drone attacks on Pakistan and atrocities elsewhere. In this case, it is not a few small men with outsized rage but it is many big men with outsized egos and the hunger for power to dominate that is committing the murders of innocents on a horrific scale.
It is the Super power’s prerogative to use violence on a larger scale and commit whatever atrocities against any section of population in the name of preserving peace and furthering freedom. But they condemn the same horrors when conducted by the little people in response to the violence committed against the little people and their civilian families.
To make the veterans of the Civil Rights Movement happy, he talked of Dr. King’s influence. But in the same breath, he also acknowledged the futility of non-violent methods. As usual, he tried to play to many galleries; and he succeeded.
He said Iran and North Korea should not have nuclear weapons but did not mention the hundreds of weapons ready to be fired by Israel. War has been part of the US history and so Obama defended it. He said that although war is tragic, it is necessary; and through wars the US has maintained the world peace! This is strange logic. But then people with power are always strange. Obama has super power and so his reasoning is super strange.
Other highlights:
Beginning of Labors on the World Stage
In acknowledging the controversy behind this award, Obama said: “I am at the beginning, and not the end, of my labors on the world stage.”
One wonders how many lives will be lost, how much global poverty will increase, and how many crooks will be richer at the end of his labors?
Winners
He mentions the names of some previous winners who either really deserved the award (Nelson Mandela and Dr. Martin Luther King) or were slightly controversial (Albert Schweitzer and George C. Marshall) but refrained from mentioning the terrorist (Menachem Begin) or criminal par excellence (Henry Kissinger).
Heil Hitler
Paying tribute to Adolf Hitler has become customary with the US presidents and so Obama could not abstain. “A non-violent movement could not have halted Hitler’s armies.” What he or other US leaders fail to mention is that in the first half of last century, Britain, France, and the US had most of the Third World under their direct or indirect rule and so Germany which didn’t stand much chance in the Third World decided to grab territory in the homeland or white territory, that is, Europe. That was unacceptable to Britain and France. (This was before the holocaust years.)
Third World War
He proudly proclaimed: “Yes, terrible wars have been fought, and atrocities committed. But there has been no Third World War.”
One wrong move on the part of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics or the United States could have resulted in that dreaded war, but for the fact that Nikita Khrushchev backed off during the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis that averted the war. So the Third World War did not happen. However, the Third World was not spared the fury, especially, from the US.
Divine Will
Those who kill in the name of God were criticized by Obama who kills in the name of Democracy. In other words, Democratic Will justifies killing people while Divine Will does not.
Middle East
As usual, Israel’s repressive rule and Palestinians’ helplessness was presented as a conflict between equals in the following words:
“At times, it even feels like we are moving backwards. We see it in Middle East, as the conflict between Arabs and Jews seems to harden. We see it in nations that are torn asunder by tribal lines.”
B. R. Gowani can be reached at brgowani@hotmail.com