Förtjänade han Nobelpriset ?

Att den norska Nobelkommittén gav en nyvald Barack Obama fredspriset hör väl inte direkt till det som det finns anledning komma ihåg. En smula pinsamt, tyckte jag då. Men om man nu när Obamas presidenttid är på väg mot sitt slut funderar på saken tycker jag nog det är en smula mindre pinsamt än då.

Men att vara USAs president är inte lätt att förena med idealistisk politik. NYT belyser idag väl Obamas dilemma i en artikel om toppmötet mot terrorism i Vita huset:

As he sought to rally the world behind a renewed attack on terrorism, President Obama argued on Thursday that force of arms was not enough and called on all nations to “put an end to the cycle of hate” by expanding human rights, religious tolerance and peaceful dialogue.

But the challenge of his approach was staring him right in the face. His audience of invited guests, putative allies in a fresh international counterterrorism campaign, included representatives from some of the world’s least democratic and most repressive countries. (—)

In promoting democracy and freedom as part of the solution to terrorism, Mr. Obama returned to a theme he has advanced episodically in the past. Burned by the failures of the Arab Spring revolutions, he seemed resigned lately to working with the authoritarian governments in the Middle East. But his speech on Thursday harked back to ideas that his predecessor, President George W. Bush, made the centerpiece of his second inaugural address in 2005.

“When people spew hatred toward others because of their faith or because they’re immigrants, it feeds into terrorist narratives,” Mr. Obama said. “It feeds a cycle of fear and resentment and a sense of injustice upon which extremists prey. And we can’t allow cycles of suspicion to tear the fabrics of our countries.”