Obama's Peace Gamble

Kudos to President Obama for a well-spoken Nobel acceptance speech in Norway today. It was thoughtful, even cerebral, showing his past as a professor, community organizer, and multi-dimensional thinker. It was interesting to see him wrestle out loud with serious issues such as the morality of war and the possibility of peace. He seemed to struggle with the contradiction between war's necessity, in certain situations, and its inevitable tragic outcomes. That war brings out the best, most brave and selfless moments in a person does not mean that it is a tool to be grasped easily. It also destroys sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, fathers, and mothers. He spoke of his awareness that he accepts a peace prize as he orders 30,000 more troops to kill and be killed. One can only hope this awareness can lead to a speedy order for our troops to return home.

He also spoke of his prohibition of torture and America's reaffirmed commitment to "remain a standard bearer in the conduct of war." This, he argues, is what makes us different from those we fight, and we lose our identity as freedom-bearers when we compromise the ideals we say we defend. I completely agree, which is why our detention and justice policies must come completely in line with international justice standards and his own idealistic words. The Red Cross is still barred from meeting with detainees at some detention facilities in Iraq and Afghanistan where high-value detainees are kept, as I outlined in a previous post. This is not consistent with America's role as a "standard bearer in the conduct of war." Neither is the use of illegal military tribunals to try terrorism detainees. Although Obama should be commended for his decision to transfer Khaled Sheikh Mohammed to the (regular) criminal justice system in New York and for taking a lot of heat for that decision, there remains many more detainees who are slated to be tried through the military system. The morality and legality of this decision has been debated elsewhere (see Andrew Napolitano's thought-provoking op-ed on the issue here), but suffice it to say that it is also hardly in line with an image as a beacon of democracy and freedom.

So while the words were eloquent and engaging, Obama must commit to live up to the words that he spoke.

(image: NYTimes)