the Nobel Prize for Peace

President Obama has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. I can only say congratulations to him. It is quite an honor.

My question actually goes to the committee that awarded the prize. How could you possibly award this prize to Obama when he has done essentially nothing to merit it? The peace prize certainly has to be connected to foreign policy -- I do not think that the stimulus package could be the cause. So what has Obama done? In the Middle East, he has managed to destroy the ability of the United States to affect Israeli public opinion. He has solidified the position of Benjamin Netanyahu as Israeli Prime Minister despite his attempts to undermine Netanyahu. He has managed to delay Israeli-Palestinian talks for nine months by raising the settlement issue.

In Latin America, he has accepted a book from Hugo Chavez (maybe that's the reason for the prize). He has supported the legally ousted former president of Honduras who violated that country's constitution, albeit that support has had no effect of restoring the ousted president.

In Iraq, he has followed George Bush's policies exactly.

In Afghanistan, he has increased the level of the war (certainly a peaceful move) and is now vacilating on whether or not to follow his generals and increase troops further. In the meantime, casualties continue to mount.

In dealing with Iran, he has been uniformly unsuccessful in moving forward with stopping the Iranian nuclear program.

In Northeast Asia, he has not managed to put any check on the North Korean regime. Nor has he moved closer to peace with that regime.

In Europe, he has sent the Czechs and the Poles into near hysteria by removing the missile shield designed to deter war. Again, this is not a move towards peace.

The only thing I can figure out that Obama has done that may support this award is his meeting between Professor Gates and the Cambridge Policeman who arrested Gates. He was supposedly trying to bring about peace between them. At least that was the cover story. Actually, he was trying to repair his damaged image after he falsely accused the police of racism.

I guess the truth is that the Nobel committee in Norway that gives out the peace prize is just hoping for a role in the upcoming remake of a hollywood favorite: Clueless.