President Obama was given the Nobel Peace Prize on the promise of what he was going to do in the name of peace, but he has shown by his actions and words that he didn’t deserve the award, President of Veterans for Peace Leah Bolger told RT.
Today is five years since US President Barack Obama received the Nobel Peace Prize.
RT:Do you think it was well thought out decision to award the Nobel Peace Prize to Obama? Did he merit it?
Leah Bolger: Absolutely not. When he was given the award in 2009 the whole world was stunned, we were disbelieved. I think even President Obama didn’t believe he merited such a prestigious award. And he has done everything he possibly could to show that he just didn’t merit the award. A lot of people talked about him being given the award on the promise of what he is going to do in the name of peace. He has certainly shown by his actions and his words that he didn’t deserve the award and he is far from it.
RT:Obama is not a human rights activist or freedom fighter and at the time he received the Nobel Prize he just took office. So why did the Nobel Prize committee take such a decision?
LB: It’s political. The people who decide on presenting the award are elected legislators in Norway. Norway is a NATO country, and NATO is something of a tool of the US. I’ve also read articles that say that it was a rebuff to President Bush who was very much disliked by the global community. So it was an affront to him to give Obama this award just shortly after he took the office, following President Bush.
RT:Is it possible that he’d receive another Peace Prize once again?
LB: I don’t think so. He has definitely gone so far the other way to this. A massive drone campaign which has illegally murdered thousands of people in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Yemen; aggressive acts in Afghanistan, Syria and Iraq that violate international law… I don’t see how the committee could award it to him again. It’s surprising what people will do, and we don’t know all the machinations that go on behind their decisions.
RT:Do you think that awarding the Nobel Peace Prize to Obama somehow changed people’s attitude towards the award in general?
LB: I believe it has diminished the prestige of the award and really made a mockery of it. I hope they can redeem themselves by giving the award in the future to people who really deserve it and work in the name of peace and justice, follow the guidelines that the founder of the prize intended. I do think it’s tarnished the award and people like Barack Obama can receive an award for promoting war and acting outside the boundaries of international law, then what does it really mean to receive such a prize?
The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of RT.
The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of RT.