Nobel Prize recognizes Obama's leadership on nuclear weapons
Surprise over today's announcement by the Nobel Committee in Oslo that it had awarded the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize to President Barack Obama less than a year into his presidency quickly gave way to an acknowledgement of his transformative agenda. The committee's citation included a prominent mention of President Obama's endorsement of the worldwide effort to eliminate nuclear weapons. “President Obama's drive for the peace and security of a world free of nuclear weapons was a major factor in the committee's decision," says Ploughshares Fund President Joe Cirincione.
"Many presidents, including Ronald Reagan and John F. Kennedy, have pursued the elimination of nuclear weapons. Obama is the first to marry the vision to a practical plan to steadily reduce the number and role of these weapons as he moves toward the ultimate goal. “
“While cynical domestic commentators have obsessed over the daily political ups and downs of a new President, observers should recognize this award for what it is,” says the Ploughshares-funded National Security Network, “a clear recognition that President Obama has dramatically changed the direction of American engagement with the world, putting forward an agenda that the world supports and shares. In his first nine months in office, President Obama has reasserted American leadership on behalf of an agenda that has seized the imagination of people around the world.”
Adds Cirincione, “He has already made significant progress, going from a visionary speech in Prague in April to winning international backing for the plan at the United Nations in September. Now, he has to overcome fierce conservative opposition in the Senate. The award today and the ceremony on December 10--a few days after the likely conclusion of a new U.S.-Russian nuclear reductions treaty December 5--will boost his domestic prospects for ratifying the new START and the nuclear test ban treaties this spring.”
