The Anti-American Nobel Peace Prize

Jay Nordlinger, senior editor of National Review and the author of "Peace, They Say: A History of the Nobel Peace Prize, the Most Famous and Controversial Prize in the World" (Encounter Books, 2012), has an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal on The Anti-American Nobel Peace Prize.

In 1987, the Norwegian Nobel Committee gave its Nobel Peace Prize to Óscar Arias, the president of Costa Rica. Central America was beset by war, particularly in Nicaragua, and Mr. Arias had crafted a peace plan. In Washington, the Reagan administration was highly skeptical. The Nobel committee told Mr. Arias they were giving him the prize to use as a weapon against Reagan.

Robert Kagan writes about this in his 1996 book, "A Twilight Struggle." Said Mr. Arias to Mr. Kagan, "Reagan was responsible for my prize."

To say that the Reagan administration was "highly skeptical" is "highly deceptive." The Reagan administration actively worked to undermine Arias' efforts both among our Central American allies and in the US press. The US rejected any peace effort that would leave the Sandinistas in power in Nicaragua.

From what I understand, Reagan believed that the best way to bring human rights and peace to Central America was not to support human rights and peace. Instead, the way to accomplish peace in Central America was to defeat the communists militarily. Communists was interpreted broadly to include any and all people who challenged US foreign policy. 

Reagan rejected Carter's foreign policies of promoting human rights and respect for individual freedom and did a 180 in terms of US foreign policy when he assumed office. However, for a number of reasons, his administration did begin to believe that democracy and respect for human rights were necessary to bring peace to Central America, but that occurred more during his second term in office and was more of a strategic choice rather than a principled belief.

There are other parts to the op-ed that are seriously problematic starting with the title: The Anti-American Nobel Peace Prize. Nordlinger then goes on to write that the committee has given Presidents Jimmy Carter and Barack Obama as well as former vice president Al Gore peace prizes. I don't know. If sure sounds as if Nordlinger is saying that the anti-American committee gave peace prizes to these anti-American leaders. If you want to argue that the committee has maintained an anti-Republican Party foreign policy approach, that's a little more accurate.

And I would say that awarding a Nobel Prize to President Obama before his chair in the Oval Office was even warm was a terrible idea. It's even more of a terrible decision in hindsight as Obama's administration has continued to erode the rule of law at home and abroad. However, I wouldn't go about characterizing the president as anti-American. Misguided absolutely.