MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

President Obama defended the concept of “just war” at Peace Nobel ceremony

“I face the world as it is” said US president on his Peace Nobel Prize acceptance speech

President Barack Obama defended the concept of a just war as he accepted the Nobel Peace Prize in Norway on Thursday. The US leader acknowledged he was a controversial recipient, not least because he is the commander-in-chief of a nation fighting two conflicts overseas.

But he added that the “instruments of war have a role to play in preserving the peace” during an address that went on to evoke the spirit of Martin Luther King while calling for the world to unite in the fight against global warming, poverty and oppression.

Mr Obama's 36-minute acceptance address came during a flying visit to Oslo. Protests had been planned to coincide with the trip, with activists questioning the wisdom of awarding the Peace Prize to a man who just nine days ago ordered another 30,000 soldiers to Afghanistan.

In his speech, Mr Obama faced his critics head on. He acknowledged there were people “far more deserving” of the award than himself.

Turning to Afghanistan, he said: “I am responsible for the deployment of thousands of young Americans to battle in a distant land. Some will kill. Some will be killed. And I come here with an acute sense of the cost of armed conflict - filled with difficult questions about the relationship between war and peace, and our effort to replace one with the other.”

He did not have “a definitive solution” to war, but he said that there will be times when nations will find the use of war “not only necessary but morally justified”.

Obama recalled that as head of state he is sworn to protect and defend his nation and “I face the world as it is, and cannot stand idle in the face of threats to the American people. For make no mistake: Evil does exist in the world. A nonviolent movement could not have halted Hitlers armies. Negotiations cannot convince al-Qaidas leaders to lay down their arms. To say that force is sometimes necessary is not a call to cynicism: it is a recognition of history, the imperfections of man and the limits of reason”.

After devoting half of his acceptance speech to a defence of the concept of a just war, the US leader went on to triumph his views of achieving a just peace.

He acknowledged his efforts to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons, vowing to work with Russia to reduce the two countries stockpiles. He also called on Iran and North Korea to be held accountable for flouting international laws. “Those who seek peace cannot stand idly by as nations arm themselves for nuclear war,” the president said.

Evoking the words of civil rights leader Dr Martin Luther King, Mr Obama concluded his speech with a call on people to “reach for the world that ought to be - that spark of the divine that still stirs within each of our souls.”