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A Prize With a Price
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President Obama has done much to deserve the Nobel Peace Prize, writes Michael Moore. But now that he’s accepted it, his decisions on Afghanistan had better live up to it.
Dear President Obama,
How outstanding that you've been recognized today as a man of peace. Your swift, early pronouncements—you will close Guantanamo, you will bring the troops home from Iraq, you want a nuclear weapon-free world, you admitted to the Iranians that we overthrew their democratically elected president in 1953, you made that great speech to the Islamic world in Cairo, you've eliminated that useless term "The War on Terror," you've put an end to torture—these have all made us and the rest of the world feel a bit safer considering the disaster of the past eight years. In eight months, you have done an about-face and taken this country in a much more sane direction.
The irony that you have been awarded this prize on the second day of the ninth year of what is quickly becoming your war in Afghanistan is not lost on anyone.
But...
The irony that you have been awarded this prize on the second day of the ninth year of what is quickly becoming your war in Afghanistan is not lost on anyone. You are truly at a crossroads now. You can listen to the generals and expand the war (only to result in a far-too-predictable defeat) or you can declare Bush's Wars over, and bring all the troops home. Now. That's what a true man of peace would do.
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There is nothing wrong with you doing what the last guy failed to do—capture the man or men responsible for the mass murder of 3,000 people on 9/11. BUT YOU CANNOT DO THAT WITH TANKS AND TROOPS. You are pursuing a criminal, not an army. You do not use a stick of dynamite to get rid of a mouse.
The Taliban is another matter. That is a problem for the people of Afghanistan to resolve—just as we did in 1776, the French did in 1789, the Cubans did in 1959, the Nicaraguans did in 1979 and the people of East Berlin did in 1989. One thing is certain through all revolutions by people who wish to be free—they ultimately have to bring about that freedom themselves. Others can be supportive, but freedom can not be delivered from the front seat of someone else's Humvee.
You have to end our involvement in Afghanistan now. If you don't, you'll have no choice but to return the prize to Oslo.
Yours,
Michael Moore
MMFlint@aol.com
MichaelMoore.com
P.S. Your opposition has spent the morning attacking you for bringing such goodwill to this country. Why do they hate America so much? I get the feeling that if you found the cure for cancer this afternoon they'd be denouncing you for destroying free enterprise because cancer centers would have to close. There are those who say you've done nothing yet to deserve this award. As far as I'm concerned, the very fact that you've offered to walk into the minefield of hate and try to undo the irreparable damage the last president did is not only appreciated by me and millions of others, it is also an act of true bravery. That's why you got the prize. The whole world is depending on the U.S.—and you—to literally save this planet. Let's not let them down.
Michael Moore is an Academy Award-winning filmmaker and author. He directed and produced Roger & Me, Bowling for Columbine, Fahrenheit 9/11, and Sicko. He has also written seven books, most recently, Mike’s Election Guide 2008.
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Lloyd Grove is editor at large for The Daily Beast. He is also a frequent contributor to New York magazine and was a contributing editor for Condé Nast Portfolio. He wrote a gossip column for the New York Daily News from 2003 to 2006. Prior to that, he wrote the Reliable Source column for the Washington Post, where he spent 23 years covering politics, the media, and other subjects.
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Goodbye, GM
Michael Moore is an Academy Award-winning filmmaker and author. He directed and produced Roger & Me, Bowling for Columbine, Fahrenheit 9/11, and Sicko. He has also written seven books, most recently, Mike’s Election Guide 2008.
Screw You, GM
Michael Moore is an Academy Award-winning filmmaker and author. He directed and produced Roger & Me, Bowling for Columbine, Fahrenheit 9/11, and Sicko. He has also written seven books, most recently, Mike’s Election Guide 2008.
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Michael Moore is an Academy Award-winning filmmaker and author. He directed and produced Roger & Me, Bowling for Columbine, Fahrenheit 9/11, and Sicko. He has also written seven books, most recently, Mike’s Election Guide 2008.
Hard to argue with what has been said above as well as the message being sent to us from the rest of the world.
Mr.Obama,
Be the bravest president we have ever had...
bluesraves@wordpress.com
Michael, Your an idiot. A rich one though. How does it feel to be a hypocrite. You should become a politician. You fit all the crieria. You even have the two faces to go with it.
You would think Moore would use a picture where he didn't sneer.
I think you might be projecting.
I do miss the goatee, though.
Moore is absolutely right, we need to stop this madness.
But far more important than the lack of actual accomplishments are some of the policies over which Obama has presided that are the very opposite of peace.
That was from a May airstrike in which over 100 Afghan civilians were killed by American jets -- one of many similar incidents this year, including one only a week ago that killed 9 Afghan civilians. How can someone responsible for that, and who has only escalated that war, possibly be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize?
Beyond Afghanistan, Obama continues to preside over another war -- in Iraq: remember that? -- where no meaningful withdrawal has occurred. He uttered not a peep of opposition to the Israeli massacre of Gazan civilians at the beginning of this year (using American weapons), one which a U.N. investigator just found constituted war crimes and possibly crimes against humanity. The changed tone to Iran notwithstanding, his administration frequently emphasizes that it is preserving the option to bomb that country, too -- which could be a third war against a Muslim country fought simultaneously under his watch.
http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2009/10/09/obama
Thank you for this post!
Thank you Michael Moore for being the voice of reason in this contry. We all should be proud of our President. I have heard that the usual suspects (Glenn "nuts" Beck & Rush "stoner" Limbaugh, etc.) are voicing their barbarities, envy & ignorance. What a slap for the Bushies and their imperial policies.
It is not the drug addicted idiots, who spew their pill head blather that worry me. It is the knowledge that so many fools fall for it.
It has to be all the countries testing their nuclear weapons, from the late 40s to date, putting God knows something in the atmosphere that has warped most of their thinking, (lack of to be truthfull).
If Michael Moore is your voice of reason for this "contry", you have a short supply of it.
I really don't like this at all. I do not like seeing my President being put on the hotseat like this. Which power is ruling this country? The denizens and Banksters from Goldman Sachs and their friends in the U.S. Treasury Department or the Nobel Prize Committee? It certainly isn't The People.
But Moore is very right. The correct decision is to get out of there now and bring the troops home. Let the unemployment rate skyrocket to the moon once the troops return home and deal with the aftermath of some Policy decisions that went awry. Reform is about making the tough decisions that actually solve problems. This one might be the most important.
It is interesting that Liberals and Conservatives both agree on this very simple premise - it is the protection of Life, Liberty and Property that we are after. War accomplishes none of those ends, particularly when it is directed at the wrong people. Osama Bin Laden is dead and buried a long time ago.
I rather favor Enrico Firme's comment about the existence of Aliens from Outerspace as similar to the mortal life of Osama Bin Laden. "If the Universe is Teeming with Aliens ... Where is Everybody?" A few tape recorded tidbits from voice tracks kept for this exact purpose is less than conclusive proof that the man is even alive.
I'm happy to see that Micheal Moore is back to writing for the Daily Beast.
While I'm not sure about a 100% withdrawal the majority of US forces should be pulled out of Afghanistan with a small number of troops left for:
1. Reconstruction and support
2. Training
3. Removing any Al-Qaeda cells that may emerge.
This will change the focus in Afghanistan to a more of hearts and minds campaign so that the Afghan people can stand on their own two feet
A prize with a price could be Michael Moore being invited to the White house for lunch, get ready another stimulus will have to be drawn up to pick up the tab.
To all;
While I agree with Mr. Moore's suggested list of goals President Obama is hoping to achieve, it is important to remember he has yet to achieve them. Having goals is all well and good, but surely the Nobel Peace Prize should be based upon achievement rather than intentions.
In fact, it strikes me as very unfortunate that this prize has been awarded to the US President at this time. Already in the US there is an 'at his feet' or 'at his throat' mentality toward this President. He has promised great things, but has yet to even have completed his first year in office. His goals, while laudable are not easy to achieve; in fact, they're damn hard!
That he is a breath of fresh air, much needed after Bush - granted. That he is articulate and erudite, again brought into greater relief as his predecessor was neither - also granted.
However, to place these laurels on his head as well, especially given the other nominees (Morgan Tsvangarai, most notably), sounds very much like politicking on the part of the Nobel Committee who should base giving the prize not on the promises made, but the promises kept.
Kind regards,
Very well said. And True
Is Obama just another puppet and will lead us into WW 111. I hope he will send back his Nobel peace prize and the 1.5 million just before all the nuclear weapons are launched.
And he better tell the Repugs he will just go the 50 vote 'nuclear' option, since the Repug greed for insurance lobbyist cash outweighs all.
All hail the God of Mammon, Lord of the Repugs, the Almighty Dollar.
I have a great life here, but am really bored with this country.
Michael Moores suggestion that "you are pursuing a criminal and you can't capture him with tanks. . . " just goes to show how naive and inept he is. The fact that people give him any voice in the public arena in our country is bad enough since he is not a citizen, but a "monday morning quarterback" who has used the freedoms of our country to make a fortune and then has the audacity to spout public policy is nothing less than appalling.
Mr. Moore has no credibility in politics, his "documentaries" are nothing more than editorials and his motives are nothing more than self promotion. Anyone who gives him anything more than a soft listen is overburdening their ears.
"Narrow is the gate that truth passes through, and few find it"-Jesus Christ circa, year 30 A.D,
Thank you.
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