Bush, Blair nominated for Nobel Peace prize

Society Pakistan & World Affairs
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President Pervez Musharraf would be a nice nomination for his role in fighting terror.

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Bush, Blair nominated for Nobel prize for Iraq war

By Alister Doyle

OSLO, May 8 (Reuters) - A Norwegian parliamentarian nominated U.S. President George W. Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair for the Nobel Peace Prize on Thursday, praising them for winning the war in Iraq.

“Sometimes it’s necessary to use a small and effective war to prevent a much more dangerous war in the future,” Jan Simonsen, a right-wing independent in Norway’s parliament, told Reuters.

“If nobody acted then Saddam Hussein could have produced weapons of mass destruction and, in five or 10 years, could have used them against Israel,” he said.

An award to Bush and Blair would be a U-turn after the Nobel Committee awarded the 2002 prize to former U.S. President Jimmy Carter last October. At the time, the committee chairman called it a kick in the shins to Bush’s Iraq policies as Carter had been calling for a diplomatic solution.

Simonsen said the war had “made it possible to create democracy and respect for human rights in a country which for so many years has been ruled by one of the worst dictators in modern times”.

However, Geir Lundestad, the director of the Nobel Institute where the five-member committee meets, said Simonsen’s proposal would have to wait for the 2004 award because the deadline for nominations for 2003 passed on February 1.

The secretive five-member committee names the annual winner in mid-October. More than 160 people and organisations have been nominated for the 2003 prize, including Pope John Paul, Irish rock star Bono and Cuban dissident Oswaldo Paya.

“I’m not especially optimistic that Bush and Blair will win but I think it’s worth a try,” Simonsen said. He said he would encourage like-minded parliamentarians in other countries to also nominate Bush and Blair.

Nobel committees have frequently honoured the United Nations instead of unilateral action by member states. The United Nations did not give an explicit mandate for the war amid opposition from countries including France, Germany and Russia.

The 2001 Nobel Peace Prize went to the United Nations and U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

Thousands of people around the world, including members of national parliaments, professors of history, law and politics and former laureates can make nominations for the prize. The nomination process is secret, but people sometimes publicise their choice.

Edited with link: Clarifying the Complex | Homepage | Thomson Reuters

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WHo's next in line for the Peace Prize, Itchy and Scratchy?!

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[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by Rhia: *
WHo's next in line for the Peace Prize, Itchy and Scratchy?!
[/QUOTE]

Interesting choice Rhia, I see where you’re coming from. You see them (Itchy and Scratchy) as teachers instilling morals and values into children through their own misadventures. I’m not sure I agree but will think about it.

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Ain't you the smartest cookie in the jar!

Seriously though if the only way to validate the actions of Mssrs B&B's is to pull a PR stunt of Peace Prize nomination, then someone somewhere has some serious problems.

No matter how many accolades u pile up it won't mean anything because in the end its the man who makes the 'Nobel Prize' not the other way round.

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yes they do deserve the peace prize. after all they have killed hundreds of thousands to liberate oil fields and to spread their reign of terror all over the world :-)

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Yes, they tore up Iraq piece by piece and are now very well on their way to jeopardising the whole region, piece by piece!

If they don't get the 'piece' prize, what else should they get?

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I dont think Bush and Blair are appropriate choices... However, Preisdent Musharraf would be an ideal candidate!

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[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by Rhia: *
WHo's next in line for the Peace Prize, Itchy and Scratchy?!
[/QUOTE]

Why not?! How about Mike Tyson and John Mcenroe?

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Expect to see an unknown win it this year.. that is, some freedom fighter or dissident from one of the "forgotten" countries.

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what is this world coming too … :disgust: … if thats really the case better be expecting Sharon ( a man of peace ?) being the winner in the years to come :disgust:

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I nominate Ariel Sharon, Milosevic, Bush and Blair. I know its hard to pick from any of these peace makers as who is at the top.

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Sharon is more deserving.

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While we are at it, how about nominating Adolf Hitler, Milosovich, and Joseph Stalin for the awards.

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I nominate Jack the ripper, Ted Bundy and Timothy Mcveigh

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It can be argued that Bush and Blair's policies may or may not create a more peaceful, stable and propserous future by helping install a representative country in the middle of a volatile region full of dictators.

You may or may not have issues with the fact that this short war cost fewer innocent lives than an average 60-day period in the history of Saddam's brutal regime.

But to compare Bush and Blair to Jack the Ripper, Ted Bundy, Timothy McVeigh, Hitler, Stalin or Milosivic is disingenuous and inflammatory to say the least.

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and that alone makes him qualify for the “NOBEL” peace prize :k:

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[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by Seminole: *
It can be argued that Bush and Blair's policies may or may not create a more peaceful, stable and propserous future by helping install a representative country in the middle of a volatile region full of dictators.

You may or may not have issues with the fact that this short war cost fewer innocent lives than an average 60-day period in the history of Saddam's brutal regime.

[/QUOTE]

Seminole, I would NOT like to see ANY warrior getting the Peace price. War and Peace is exclusive of each other. No person involved with war mongering should ever get the price. There are MANY people around who are much more deserving and are giving up their lives working for peace without war.

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[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by The Old Man: *
Seminole, I would NOT like to see ANY warrior getting the Peace price. War and Peace is exclusive of each other. No person involved with war mongering should ever get the price. There are MANY people around who are much more deserving and are giving up their lives working for peace without war.
[/QUOTE]
That is a valid point of view, though one could counter that there have been great men, even prophets, throughout world history who used war to spread the overall message of peace and prosperity.

What is NOT a valid argument is the comparison of Bush and Blair to serial rapists, despicable despots and homicidal maniacs.

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Next in line for the Nobel Peace Prize…how about the reincarnation of Hitler?

:rolleyes:

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They should really build a memorial in Washington and London for Hitler with one Nobel prize for him, I don’t care if its Chemical, Biology or Peace prize.