Obama receives Nobel Peace Prize for 2009

Oslo: President Barack Obama evoked the cause of a ‘just war' on Thursday, accepting his Nobel Peace prize just nine days after sending 30,000 more US troops to battle in Afghanistan but promising to use the prestigious prize to "reach for the world that ought to be".

Obama became the first sitting US president in 90 years and the third ever to win the prize — some say prematurely.

He and his wife, Michelle, whirled through a day filled with Nobel pomp and ceremony in this Nordic capital.

Obama delivered a Nob-el acceptance speech that he saw as a treatise on war's use and prevention. He crafted much of the address himself and the scholarly remarks — at about 4,000 words — were nearly twice as long as his inaugural address.

"I face the world as it is," Obama said, refusing to renounce war for his nation or under his leadership, saying that he is obliged to protect and defend the United States.

"A nonviolent movement could not have halted Hitler's armies. Negotiations cannot convince Al Qaida's leaders to lay down their arms," Obama said. "To say that force is sometimes necessary is not a call to cynicism, it is a recognition of history."

The president laid out the circumstances where war is justified — in self-defence, to come to the aid of an invaded nation, or on humanitarian grounds, such as when civilians are slaughtered by their own government or a civil war threatens to engulf an entire region.

Belief

"The belief that peace is desirable is rarely enough to achieve it," he said.

He also spoke bluntly of the cost of war, saying of the Afghanistan buildup he just ordered that "some will kill, some will be killed."

"No matter how justified, war promises human tragedy," he said.

Obama also emphasised alternatives to violence, stressing the importance of both diplomatic efforts and tough sanctions to confront autocratic nations. "Let us reach for the world that ought to be," Obama said.

Obama was staying in Oslo only about 24 hours and skipping the traditional second day of festivities. This miffed some in Norway but reflects a White House that sees little value in his taking an overseas victory lap while thousands of US troops prepare to go off to war and millions of Americans remain jobless.

In awarding the prize to Obama, the Nobel panel cited his call for a world free of nuclear weapons, for a more engaged US role in combating global warming, for his support of the United Nations and multilateral diplomacy and for broadly capturing the attention of the world and giving its people "hope".

But the Nobel committee made its announcement in October when he wasn't even nine months on the job, recognising his aspirations more than his achievements.

Echoing the surprise that greeted his win, Obama started his 36-minute speech by saying that others who have done more and suffered more may better deserve the honour.

"I am at the beginning, and not the end, of my labours on the world stage," the president said. Earlier, Obama had said that the criticism might recede if he advances some of his goals. But, he added, proving doubters wrong is "not really my concern". "If I'm not successful, then all the praise in the world won't disguise that fact," he said.

The president's motorcade arrived at Oslo's high-rise government complex for Obama's meeting with Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg as a few dozen anti-war protesters gathered behind wire fences nearby.

List of nobel laureates

Economics: Elinor Ostrom and Oliver Williamson.

Peace: US President Barack Obama.

Literature: Romanian-born German writer Herta Mueller.

Chemistry: Ada Yonath, an Israeli, and Venkatraman Ramakrishnan and Thomas Steitz, both Americans.

Physics: Charles Kao, a Shanghai-born British-American, won half the physics prize. Willard Boyle, a Canadian-American, and George Smith of the United States shared the other half.

Physiology or Medicine: Three Americans, Australian-born Elizabeth Blackburn, British-born Jack Szostak and Carol Greider.

Do you think Barack Obama deserves the Nobel Peace Prize? What do you think of the decision to send 30,000 troops to Afghanistan?