Bush-bashing is fast becoming a tradition at Nobel Peace Prize ceremony

Yahoo ^ | Dec 10th, 2003 | AFP

[The_Republican]

OSLO (AFP) - Since the election of US President of George W. Bush in 2000, the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony in Oslo has become an annual occasion to bash Washington's foreign policy, as comments by this year's winner Shirin Ebadi on Wednesday confirmed.

United Nations (news - web sites) Secretary-General Kofi Annan (news - web sites), the winner in 2001, tread lightly, but unmistakeably, in his criticism of US foreign policy, suggesting that it would "not be wise" to attack Iraq (news - web sites).

Bush-bashing became more explicit in 2002, when Jimmy Carter won the prize, a decision which Nobel committee chairman Gunnar Berge said "can and must be interpreted as a criticism of the position of the administration currently sitting in the US towards Iraq".

Wednesday it was the turn of Iranian human rights lawyer Ebadi to take a swipe at the United States.

"In the past two years, some states have violated the universal principles and laws of human rights by using the events of September 11 and the war on international terrorism as a pretext," Ebadi said in her acceptance speech, without, however, mentioning the United States by name.

Nobel-watchers said there may be well be an anti-Bush pattern emerging around the peace prize.

"This is indeed becoming a trend", said Stein Toennesson, head of the Oslo Peace Research Institue (PRIO) said.

He added, however, that the Nobel jury probably did not intend this outcome in their most recent choice.

"The idea was to reward Ebadi for her fight in favour of women and children," he told AFP.

Ebadi may even have played a tactical game, Toennesson suspects, seeking to prove to the extremist forces in Iran that she was not, as they allege, serving Western interests.

Her criticism of the continued detention of prisoners in the US military base in Guantanamo would go in the same direction.

"I think Ebadi's main intention was not to appear as a puppet of the United States," Toennesson said, who noted that Ebadi's comments on rights abuses by the Iranian government were relatively muted.

Espen Barth Eide, researcher at the Norwegian Institute for International Affairs (NUPI) concurred.

"As a moderate Muslim, she has to show her fellow citizens that she is not close to the Americans," he said.

"People in Iran feel that the United States wants them to change. Ebadi and the moderates also want change in favour of more tolerance and more democracy. It is therefore important for her to mark the difference," he said.

Ebadi's allegations of Western double standards in applying United Nations resolutions in the Middle East would also have been designed to curry favour in Islamist circles, experts said.

Ebadi said in her speech that Iraq's refusal to respect UN resolutions provoked two wars in 12 years, while Israel continues to occupy Palestinian territory with impunity after 35 years, despite several resolutions calling for its withdrawal.

But just because criticism of Bush has become something of a tradition, the Nobel Peace Prize is not actually anti-American, said Barth Eide, citing the prize award to Carter, who is, after all, a former US president.

"The Bush administration's policies are almost systematically out of sync with international law," which is of prime importance to the Nobel jury, he said.

[The_Republican]

Not so Nobel Prize.

[BushisTheMan]

Ebadi can go suck an egg. Look at the long line of losers that have won this award: Koffi Annan, Arafat, Jimmy Carter, this freaky woman from Iran (land of nuts), and then tell me this award has any merit. None at all.

[At _War_With_Liberals]

The award is a joke. It is living off of its name.

Every winner is always my enemy.

[Search4Truth]

"But just because criticism of Bush has become something of a tradition, the Nobel Peace Prize is not actually anti-American, said Barth Eide, citing the prize award to Carter, who is, after all, a former US president."

So their example of a pro-American is Jimmy Carter. Isn't that special.

[Keith]

I love being lectured on international law by the trustees of the inventor of dynamite...guilt money is always so self-righteous.

[At _War_With_Liberals]

They chose the Iranian over the Pope, AFTER the Pope opposed the Iraq invasion.

Says it all. He is on his deathbed, and she has many years left to get the prize. Anti Catholic message, period. Couldn't resist the Muslim feminist.

[ladyinred]

The Nobel has lost all meaning .

[Lance Romance]

Remember Yassir Arafat was a recipient. I'm willing to bet Bill Clinton will receive it within the next 5 years.

[Lance Romance]

Remember Yassir Arafat was a recipient. I'm willing to bet Bill Clinton will receive it within the next 5 years.

[international american]

PUKEMAO! Nobel ain't Noble!!

[Porterville]

International Law???? What is that??? The support for dictatorships and mass murder of the poor, while enabling the rich and famous photo-ops with AIDS victims and starving Asians??? F&^& international law, I'd rather be an international criminal than a memeber of the Nazi-Lite "Internationalist Party"

[international american]

"The Nobel has lost all meaning"

Not really, it embraces everything we despise!

[international american]

"The Nobel has lost all meaning"

Not really, it embraces everything we despise!

[Howlin]

"But just because criticism of Bush has become something of a tradition, the Nobel Peace Prize is not actually anti-American, said Barth Eide, citing the prize award to Carter, who is, after all, a former US president."

They gave Carter that award as a slap in the face to Bush.

[WinOne4TheGipper]

How about a Free Republic Ronald Wilson Reagan Peace Through Strength Prize? I nominate Dubya.

[N. Theknow]

Nobel invented dynamite and this prize really blows.

[squidly]

Israel continues to occupy Palestinian territory with impunity after 35 years, despite several resolutions calling for its withdrawal.

I thought the U.S. vetoed those resolutions (I'm not the expert on this, though).

[The_Republican]

LOL!

[INSENSITIVE GUY]

The Nobel peace prize is just another silly little liberal trinket!IT MEANS NOTHING!

[Billthedrill]

At the moment the evil reputation of Mr. Bush is one of the few things that's helping to keep Ms. Ebadi from being tossed into the hoosegow by the mullahs she's irritated.