I must say I was probably as deeply surprised as President Obama himself to learn that he has won the Nobel Peace Prize. I should say rather that I was deeply shocked. This is not to belittle President Obama. He has brought a welcome sense pf change, a breath of fresh air, in world politics after the disastrous Bush years. He has indeed brought glimmers of hope to the rest of the world, to peoples and nations that have suffered injustices and hope that a new US presidency could offer something positive.

Ten months into the presidency, Obama has set out some lines of thought, perhaps provided some perspective for peace in the world. He has held out a hand of friendship to Iran and North Korea. He has emphasized the desire for renewed negotiations between the Israelis and the Palestinians. He has condemned the use of torture.

But is that any more than any sane political leader would do? It's true that he has repaired, or tried to repair, some of the damage that his predecessor has inflicted on the world.

Perhaps he will achieve some measure of peace in the goodness of time.  But at present, he is still deeply engaged in Afghanistan and in Iraq. Unmanned drones have been killing innocents in Pakistan. He has endorsed the use of "extraordianry rendition". (Does that not implicity endorse torture on behalf of the US so long as it is practised outside the US?) When Gaza was set ablaze in a wanton invasion, he remained silent with the lame excuse that he had yet to be sworn in as the new president.

As head of a country that has caused so much human suffering by direct killing, and by its support of other war-mongering nations, Obama has surely to show much more than he has done to deserve a Nobel Prize for Peace.

It is fair to point out that Obama was not himself seeking the Nobel Prize for Peace. It is not his doing that he has been awarded the Prize. He was, as he said, deeply surprised.

The question is what was the Nobel Committee thinking?

Let us hope that President Obama will show, by his future actions, that he is truly deserving of the Nobel Peace Prize.

(If not, can we get a refund?)