This is true in failed states like Somalia, where terrorism and piracy is joined by famine and human suffering. One urgent example is the effort to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons, and to seek a world without them.
In remarks, President Obama expressed skepticism over award and criticism on Afghanistan strategy.
I understand why war is not popular. I refuse to accept the idea that the 'isness' of man's present nature makes him morally incapable of reaching up for the eternal 'oughtness' that forever confronts him. Billions have been lifted from poverty.
And I am working with President Medvedev to reduce America and Russia's nuclear stockpiles.But it is also incumbent upon all of us to insist that nations like Iran and North Korea do not game the system. And within America, there has long been a tension between those who describe themselves as realists or idealists — a tension that suggests a stark choice between the narrow pursuit of interests or an endless campaign to impose our values.I reject this choice. All of these are vital ingredients in bringing about the evolution that President Kennedy spoke about. A gradual evolution of human institutions.
There is little scientific dispute that if we do nothing, we will face more drought, more famine, more mass displacement -- all of which will fuel more conflict for decades.
Our actions matter, and can bend history in the direction of justice. The absence of hope can rot a society from within.
We have done so out of enlightened self-interest — because we seek a better future for our children and grandchildren, and we believe that their lives will be better if other people's children and grandchildren can live in freedom and prosperity.So yes, the instruments of war do have a role to play in preserving the peace. It is a centerpiece of my foreign policy. We make mistakes, and fall victim to the temptations of pride, and power, and sometimes evil. And so, a quarter century after the United States Senate rejected the League of Nations -- an idea for which Woodrow Wilson received this prize -- America led the world in constructing an architecture to keep the peace: a Marshall Plan and a United Nations, mechanisms to govern the waging of war, treaties to protect human rights, prevent genocide, restrict the most dangerous weapons. Investments in development. And within America, there has long been a tension between those who describe themselves as realists or idealists -- a tension that suggests a stark choice between the narrow pursuit of interests or an endless campaign to impose our values around the world.
Those who seek peace cannot stand idly by as nations arm themselves for nuclear war.The same principle applies to those who violate international law by brutalizing their own people.
"So let us reach for the world that ought to be — that spark of the divine that still stirs within each of our souls.
And yet I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge the considerable controversy that your generous decision has generated. It solves no social problem: It merely creates new and more complicated ones."
A nonviolent movement could not have halted Hitler's armies.
The decision to award the Nobel Peace Prize to US President Barack Obama in 2009 failed to live up to expectations, the committee's ex-secretary says. Peace requires responsibility.
"Let us focus," he said, "on a more practical, more attainable peace, based not on a sudden revolution in human nature but on a gradual evolution in human institutions. The most insightful comments on all subjects So yes, the instruments of war do have a role to play in preserving the peace.
Our actions matter, and can bend history in the direction of justice.And yet I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge the considerable controversy that your generous decision has generated.
Only a just peace based on the inherent rights and dignity of every individual can truly be lasting.
{{#replies}} And sadly, it will continue to be true in unstable regions for years to come.The leaders and soldiers of NATO countries — and other friends and allies — demonstrate this truth through the capacity and courage they have shown in Afghanistan.
We will bear witness to the quiet dignity of reformers like Aung Sang Suu Kyi; to the bravery of Zimbabweans who cast their ballots in the face of beatings; to the hundreds of thousands who have marched silently through the streets of Iran.
War, in one form or another, appeared with the first man. But there has been no Third World War. In the wake of such destruction, and with the advent of the nuclear age, it became clear to victor and vanquished alike that the world needed institutions to prevent another world war. There is no simple formula here. Let me make one final point about the use of force.