President Barack Hussein Obama has won the Nobel Peace Prize. Go figure. It is not hard to understand this one. But for those of you that don’t, I’ll let Fidel Castro spell it out for you.

“Former Cuban leader Fidel Castro also weighed in. He called the Nobel award a "positive step," although he said it was more a repudiation of former President George W. Bush than a recognition of anything concrete Obama has done.” (AP Wire 10/10/2009 Italics mine) Castro is no fan of the U.S., yet even he felt compelled to point out the contradiction this award represents.

The awarding of the Peace Prize to Obama is a slap in the face to former recipients of this award as well as a cheapening of its meaning. Former recipients include:

· The International Red Cross – Twice

· Amnesty International

· Bishop Desmond Mpilo Tutu

· Anwar Sadat and Menachim Begin

· Nelson Mandela and Frederik Willem de Klerk

· Yitzhak Rabin and Shimon Perez

· Mother Teresa

If you don’t know what these individuals and organizations did to receive this award – you should. If you don’t know what Obama has done to receive this award – well neither do I.

A man that has been President less time than he was a Senator, and less time a Senator than it takes to get a law degree should have been embarrassed enough to turn down the prize. There were 204 other candidates for this prize. Why was it given to Obama?

This is a clear signal from the international community that they want Obama and his administration to continue on the current path they are on. This is a carrot on a stick, in other words. On the same day that Obama won the prize, he also refused to meet with the visiting Dalai Lama. This is the first time a sitting President has not met with the Dalai Lama when he has visited. The reasoning behind this? Obama did not want to upset his visit with the Chinese Premier next month. Appeasement in other words. That is what most of the united nations want from us. And Obama appears ready to give it. God forbid we upset Wen Jiabao who considers Tibet a part of China. Never mind that the Congress of the United States passed a resolution in 1991 under the Foreign Authorization Act that Tibet was an “Occupied Nation” and its true leaders are the Dalai Lama and it’s government in exile.

Here is the reasoning of the Nobel Committee for giving such a formerly prestigious award to a man that has accomplished nothing of note in the world arena:

“The five-member Norwegian Nobel Committee — four of whom spoke to The Associated Press, said awarding Obama the peace prize could be seen as an early vote of confidence intended to build global support for the policies of his young administration.

They lauded the change in global mood wrought by Obama's calls for peace and cooperation, and praised his pledges to reduce the world stock of nuclear arms, ease U.S. conflicts with Muslim nations and strengthen its role in combating climate change.” (AP 10/09/2009 Italics mine)

The italicized statement in the former paragraph makes my point. The italicized part of the statement in the second paragraph blows my mind. This is a man on the cusp of sending 40,000 more troops to Afghanistan. I agree with this troop increase. General Stanley A. McChrystal is the man in charge over there and if he says he needs more troops then by God we need to give him more troops. But now, how does the Nobel Committee reconcile this much talked about possibility with their giving of the award to Obama? I believe we need to insure that the Taliban never gains a foothold in that nation, or any other, again. Their increased activity in Pakistan should show any of us they are far from a neutralized threat. But If the President is serious about ending this threat – how does he accept this award? We are a nation on a war footing with terrorism. We must be dogged in our pursuit of Al Qaeda wherever that may lead us.

Giving this award to Obama is a contradiction in itself. And President Obama is sending extremely confusing signals to both the American people and the rest of the world by accepting it. Show the American people and her troops in harm’s way President Obama, that you are serious about winning this war in Afghanistan. Show the American people that America is your number one priority – not globalization. I, for one, am damn sick of heeding the words of ungrateful nations that so obviously dislike us, but are first in line for the handouts when they need them. Show the rest of the world you love America first – give them back their bribe.