President Trump has been hankering and yowling to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize since his first term.
Now in his second term, he is bellyaching again since he talked a few times to Putin over Ukraine and had a few words with the Cambodian and Thailand leaders during the recent border dispute.
Netanyahu got a few warnings from Trump but the carnage in Gaza worsens and the US government is complicit with political and arms support .
The war in Ukraine rages on despite Trump’s boast to end the war in 24 hours before he was elected President and his recent peace talks done without Ukraine participation.
Only the Thai-Cambodia conflict ended peacefully with the diplomacy from Prime Minister Anwar but Trump wanted to muscle in on the glory.
Trump boasted he has resolved seven wars during his first and present term but there has been little actual resolutions to such conflicts.
Trump’s nomination for this year by some nation leaders for this prestigious prize but often controversial prize are from those who wanted to curry his favor for reduced trade tariffs or need his political and military support.
The Nobel Peace Prize, though inundated with noble and honorable intentions , has courted controversies , ridicule, and repulsion with some of the choices.
Henry Kissinger has been called a “war criminal ” and even he wanted to return the prize after the joint winner Vietnamese Le Duc Tho rejected the 1973 Nobel Peace Prize because the Vietnam peace was not achieved then . The Vietnam war only ended in 1975 when North Vietnamese forces entered Saigon and drove out the last American.
Kissinger label as a “war criminal ” comes from his part in other conflicts in Cambodia, Bangladesh and Chile and betrayal of the Kurds. Ridden with guilt, he tried to return the prize in later years but was rejected.
Other awardees for peace where the war didn’t end were Yitzhak Rabin , Yasser Arafat, and Shimon Peres in 1995 but the war between the PLO and Israel carried on without pause and today the war rages on.
Theodore Roosevelt was awarded the prize in 1906 but he fought a brutal Philippine- American War to colonize Philippines.
Barack Obama was given the prize in 2009 and even he was surprised with it. It was awarded to him on the assumption he could bring and foster peace and stop wars during his presidency.
History tells us Obama achieved little and with Syria, even when poison gas was used on civilians, he did not act forcefully against the perpetrators. Most of the Norwegian committee later admitted it had been a mistake although much of the world already thought it so when it was first announced.
Again, Obama did little when Russia annexed Crimea in 2014 and this inaction has emboldened Russia and the consequence is Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Much as many loathe and are scandalize with Trump behavior , he does get his way with his brash and bullying as many leaders had met with him and many are lining up to meet him. He is due soon in Malaysia to have talks with Prime Minister Anwar and other Asean leaders.
This is likely because of his tariff war on the world and US still the world leading economic power. Many leaders know upsetting or disagreeing with Trump could bring big export dip and economic woes to their nation.
Anyway, the Nobel Peace Prize for bringing peace to warring nations has been wrought with bad mistakes and choices. So, what’s another facepalm.
Give Trump the Nobel Peace Prize but with the strict and binding conditions he brings permanent peace to:-
- Gaza with US and Israel recognizing the state of Palestine
- Ukraine with withdrawal of Russian troops from all territories sized since February 2022
- The Yemeni civil war
The Nobel Peace Prize can only be awarded to him after the end of his second Presidential term and when all three peace treaties has been achieved and have lasted for a minimum of one year.
It will not be beyond Trump to use economic transactional deals , his bullying attitude , gunboat diplomacy or even brinkmanship as he is brazen enough to carry it off.
Sometimes we have to look for peace in the strangest place and person. Peace for the suffering victims and the world is much better than giving away a prize with a mixed track record to a self-vaunted person that will be a footnote in history in a few years.
Dangle the Nobel Peace Prize in front of Trump but with the three conditions.
A vain and pompous Donald Trump will find the prize hard to reject.
Koo Wee Hon (kooweehon@gmail.com) is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav. Log in to creator.newswav.com and become a Newswav Creator now!
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