Obama ‘surprised and deeply humbled’ by Nobel Peace Prize

WASHINGTON – U.S. President Barack Obama said Friday he is "surprised and deeply humbled" by winning the Nobel Peace Prize, but feels he did not deserve the honour.

"Let me be clear, I do not view it as a recognition of my own accomplishments, but rather as an affirmation of American leadership on behalf of aspirations held by people in all nations," Obama said in remarks from the White House Rose Garden.

"To be honest, I do not feel I deserve to be in the company of so many of the transformative figures who have been honoured by this prize – men and women who have inspired me and inspired the entire world thorugh their courageous pursuit of peace."

Obama was the surprise recipient of the Nobel prize for giving the world "hope for a better future" and fighting for nuclear disarmament – a stunning decision that is already bringing praise and criticism both in America and abroad.

"This was not how I expected to wake up this morning," Obama said.

The award immediately drew accusations that Obama was honoured more for his inspirational oratory and early diplomatic efforts than for any substantial accomplishments during his nine months as president.

Michael Steele, chairman of the Republican National Committee, said the international honour was a recognition only of Obama’s international celebrity and would mean little to Americans suffering through a prolonged recession at home.

"The real question Americans are asking is, ‘What has President Obama actually accomplished?’" Steele said. "It is unfortunate that the president’s star power has outshined tireless advocates who have made real achievements working towards peace and human rights."

Steele added: "One thing is certain – President Obama won’t be receiving any awards from Americans for job creation, fiscal responsibility, or backing up rhetoric with concrete action."

Obama said he would "accept this award as a call to action – a call for all nations to confront the common challenges of the 21st century."

Relating his family’s reaction to the news, the president said his elder daughter, Malia, greeted him Friday morning excited about the award but also that it was the birthday of Bo, the family dog. Sasha Obama, the president’s younger daughter, was thrilled about the upcoming long weekend in the United States.

"It’s good to have kids to keep things in perspective," Obama said.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper offered Obama his congratulations.

"I think it’s a tremendous award to somebody who has obviously accomplished a great deal in his life and I am very happy for him and his family. I think it is a great honour," Harper said at an event in Welland, Ont.

The award may bring political complications for a president struggling with near-record unemployment at home and weighing a dramatic escalation of the war in Afghanistan.

In its citation, the Norwegian Nobel committee said it awarded the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize to Obama "for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and co-operation between peoples."

The committee said it "attached special importance to Obama’s vision of and work for a world without nuclear weapons."

Obama recently presided over a special session of the United Nations Security Council on nuclear disarmament, winning approval of a resolution expressing grave concern about nuclear proliferation.

"Obama has as president created a new climate in international politics. Multilateral diplomacy has regained a central position, with emphasis on the role that the United Nations and other international institutions can play," the Nobel committee said.

"Only very rarely has a person to the same extent as Obama captured the world’s attention and given its people hope for a better future. His diplomacy is founded in the concept that those who are to lead the world must do so on the basis of values and attitudes that are shared by the majority of the world’s population."

Obama’s senior adviser, David Axelrod, said on Friday he assumes Obama will go to Oslo to accept the Nobel Peace Prize. Axelrod told MSNBC that the award was an unexpected honour for the president and was an affirmation of Obama’s work on world challenges like nuclear proliferation and climate change. Asked if Obama would go to Oslo for the award ceremony, Axelrod said: "This is all news to us, so I don’t know what we’re going to do with regards to that. I would assume so, but I don’t know."

The criticism began almost immediately. Political opponents expressed amazement that Obama would be honoured after less than a year in an office, and with his foreign policy record – on the Middle East peace, Iran, North Korea, and two foreign wars – still being written.

The decision to bestow one of the world’s top accolades on a president less than nine months into his first term, who has yet to score a major foreign policy success, provoked gasps of surprise from journalists at the announcement in Oslo.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee praised Obama for "his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and co-operation between peoples."

The first African-American to hold his country’s highest office, Obama has called for disarmament and worked to restart the stalled Middle East peace process since taking office in January.

"Very rarely has a person to the same extent as Obama captured the world’s attention and given its people hope for a better future," the committee said in a citation.

While the decision won praise from statesmen like Nelson Mandela and Mikhail Gorbachev, both former Nobel laureates, it was also attacked, especially in parts of the Arab and Muslim world, as hasty and undeserved.

The Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip and opposes a peace treaty with Israel, said the award was premature at best.

"Obama has a long way to go still and lots of work to do before he can deserve a reward," said Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri. "Obama only made promises and did not contribute any substance to world peace. And he has not done anything to ensure justice for the sake of Arab and Muslim causes."

Issam al-Khazraji, a day labourer in Baghdad, said: "He doesn’t deserve this prize. All these problems – Iraq, Afghanistan – have not been solved . . . The man of ‘change’ hasn’t changed anything yet."

Liaqat Baluch, a senior leader of the Jamaat-e-Islami, a conservative religious party in Pakistan, called the award an embarrassing "joke."

But the chief Palestinian peace negotiator, Saeb Erekat, welcomed the award to Obama and expressed hope that "he will be able to achieve peace in the Middle East."

Nobel committee chairman Thorbjoern Jagland rejected suggestions from journalists that Obama was getting the prize too early, saying it recognized what he had already done over the past year.

"We hope this can contribute a little bit to enhance what he is trying to do," he told a news conference.

The committee said it attached "special importance to Obama’s vision of and work for a world without nuclear weapons," saying he had "created a new climate in international politics."

The prize worth 10 million Swedish crowns ($1.4 million U.S.) will be presented in Oslo on Dec. 10.