Obama - Nobel Peace Prize

[Requiel]

Well this is going somewhat off topic but I think it's important to note that Arafat had a very tenuous hold on power amongst Palestinians. While the Israeli side was strongly divided over the Oslo Accords, the situation was even more stark on the Palestinian side. Hamas and the more extreme elements wanted nothing to do with it while the more moderate factions were mostly optimistic. To say that Arafat was the ultimate authority over all of these groups is not very accurate. Arafat mostly had support from the moderates as a strong leader who wouldn't be immediately denounced by the more extreme elements and he was tolerated by the rest. Unfortunately the moderates alone do not form a majority (as was shown when Hamas took power in the recent elections). I firmly believe that without Arafat, the situation would have been significantly worse than it was. As unlikable as he was, he managed to keep some of the worst elements in check and his death was a very tense moment in the politics of the area. The fact that the Palestinians almost universally took a much harder line immediately following his death shows fairly clearly just how much he moderated the extremes even if he couldn't control them entirely.

And yes, warlord is a good way to describe him, but this is the realpolitik of a tribal culture without formal borders or sovereign land.

[Major Tom]

That discounts significant amounts of information found in documents where Arafat authorized (in his handwriting) funding and armament for various causes, which officially and publicly he blamed on various independent factions, especially the Al Aqsa Martyr Brigade.

I firmly believe that without Arafat, the situation would have been significantly worse than it was. As unlikable as he was, he managed to keep some of the worst elements in check and his death was a very tense moment in the politics of the area.

I cannot argue about matters of faith.

Major T.

[Elefino]

Maybe the Committee is suffering a case of "Obamania" like a lot of people are

[Old Dad]

I haven't commented on this yet, so here we go.

Seems to me "premature" is even an overstatement. Yes, he can 'talk the talk' but we've yet to see if he can 'walk the walk.' As we all know, talking and doing are two VERY different things! My opinion? They should have waited at least another year or two.

[Joby]

I wouldn't say that President Obama has done nothing except pontificate, he's built a lot of bridges to the Arab world, to Cuba and to Iran, additionally he's rebuilt relations with places that had been snubbed under previous administrations such as France and Spain. All of that has put the State Department back in a good position to get positive results and in general heralds a return to a saner and more inclusive foreign policy that doesn't revolve around American exceptionalism. There have been talks with Russia on reducing nuclear weapons stocks and brought the US out of the reflexive hatred of anything to do with the UN. I'm not sure that any other individual has done more than that in the past year to be honest.

I tend to agree with Requiel remembering that I too am not an American citizen.
Joby

[Major Tom]

I tend to agree with Requiel remembering that I too am not an American citizen.

For the record, neither am I...

Major T.