
EMDEE wrote:Is it not a bit premature to give Obama the Nobel Peace Prize. This thrusts something on him that he will be expected to live up to, and may not be able to, and the only way will be down from here.




YLE.FI wrote:The 2008 recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, former Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari on Friday called the announcement of Brack Obama's win this year surprising, and speculated that it may be in part aimed at encouraging the American president to seek peace in the Middle East.
"I have to say that it was quite a surprising move for the Nobel Committee to award the prize to Barack Obama. Maybe last year's award was, too, I can't say if it was surprising. But, at least in Norway it was seen as a return to what many consider Nobel's original intention. In other words, last year the prize was awarded to someone who had a record of influencing peace processes," said Martti Ahtisaari.
According to Ahtisaari, the decision is reminiscent of the prizes awarded during various phases of the Middle East peace process aimed at encouraging the parties in negotiations. He believes that winning the Nobel Peace Prize will put pressure on President Obama to bring about progress in the Middle East, as there is no more important issue on the agenda of the international community awaiting a solution.

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