United Liberty

President Barack Obama received his Nobel Peace Prize today in Oslo, Norway. During his speech, defended war and his use of military for humanitarian aid:

In them, Obama refused to renounce war for his nation or under his leadership, saying defiantly that “I face the world as it is” and that he is obliged to protect and defend the United States.

“A nonviolent movement could not have halted Hitler’s armies. Negotiations cannot convince al-Qaida’s leaders to lay down their arms,” Obama said. “To say that force is sometimes necessary is not a call to cynicism, it is a recognition of history.”

The president laid out the circumstances where war is justified - in self-defense, to come to the aid of an invaded nation and on humanitarian grounds, such as when civilians are slaughtered by their own government or a civil war threatens to engulf an entire region.

Yes, defensive war is, at times, necessary. Our Constitution allows the federal government the power to “provide for the common defense.” It does not, however, allow the Congress to engage in international offense (the Bush Doctrine), nor does it allow for Congress or the president to use the military for humanitarian or police missions around the globe.

The fact that Barack Obama received this award nine days after telling Americans that he planned to send 30,000 of their countrymen to Afghanistan to fight a war that has lasted over eight years, with no end in sight.

While Obama and his apologists are quick to point out that he opposed the war in Iraq, that’s simply not good enough. Not many Americans Will tell you that we had didn’t have a reason to go to Afghanistan, but due to many reasons (the war in Iraq being of them) sight was lost on the real fight against terrorism. Today, we see that public opinion for action in Afghanistan has sunk and we are being treated as occupiers by the people we claim to be protecting.

Also, during his speech today, President Obama said that true peace isn’t just about freedom from fear, but freedom from want.

This is why he was given the Nobel Peace Prize, because he represents the rise of the state and its increasing power over the individual in the name of the common good. It’s because he is a collectivist.