The call from Oslo came way too early for Obama

The call came too early for President Obama on the Nobel Peace Prize.

In fact, it was precisely 6 a.m. when President Obama was awoken by his press secretary Robert Gibbs and informed that he was the recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize.

He hadn’t even had his morning coffee yet. And here was the young president winning the Nobel just nine months into his presidency.

As the news landed early Friday, the world has reacted with complete surprise. Even the handicappers of the Nobel in Oslo didn’t come close to calling Obama in the field of some 200 who were nominees.

GlobalPost has been on top of this story with an excellent piece on the handicappers that ran Thursday out of Norway by a new correspondent, Gwladys Fouche.

The world is surprised, but not too many have expressed disapproval beyond Hamas and the Taliban. And more than likely the far right in America.

But certainly it is fair to ask, why was he given this award when he is conducting two wars and pondering an escalation of 40,000 trooops in Afghanistan? The saber rattling against Iran is underway. The Israeli-Palestinian peace process has received scant attention by the president and is going nowhere even if his special envoy George Mitchell is working hard for a breakthrough.

It will be interesting to watch how Israel reacts to the news, particularly in the Likud and far right camp that has expressed deep mistrust of Obama.

An early glimpse comes from Likud Knesset member Danny Danon who responded to questions from reporters in Israel with this:

"Obama set himself a goal without even understanding the situation, and for that, he received the prize. [Prime Minister Binyamin] Netanyahu will have to be very strong against the pressure that will now intensify as Obama will have to prove that he is worthy of the prize."

Obama’s speech four months ago in Cairo earned him many points around the world for his peace-making efforts, and essentially illustrated to the world that he was indeed going to reengage with international diplomacy in a new way. It is clearly one that stands in stark contrast to the unilateralism of President George W. Bush.

In his historic speech in Cairo in June, he said, “I have come here to seek a new beginning between the United States and Muslims around the world," he said, "one based upon mutual interest and mutual respect; and one based upon the truth that America and Islam are not exclusive, and need not be in competition. Instead, they overlap, and share common principles - principles of justice and progress; tolerance and the dignity of all human beings.”

It seems the judges in Oslo have awarded him for having a good ear for listening to the world. And that’s not a bad thing, even if he does still have a lot to prove. The big question now is whether being recognized by the Nobel committee this early will help or hinder the administration in carrying out the president's great hopes for success in foreign challenges that include: reaching a settlement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, executing the U.S. draw down of troops in Iraq; continuing to build the institutions of democracy in Afghanistan; and containing the nuclear threat posed by Iran.

It’s a long list and there is a lot of work to do.  

http://www.globalpost.com/notebook/worldview/091009/the-call-oslo-came-way-too-early-obama