Remarks of President Barack Obama As Prepared for Delivery A Just and Lasting Peace Acceptance of the Oslo# obel

l Peace Pri!e or(ay "hursday# December $%th# &%%'

Your Majesties, Your Royal Highnesses, Distinguished Members of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, citizens of America, and citizens of the world ! recei"e this honor with dee# gratitude and great humility$ !t is an award that s#ea%s to our highest as#irations & that for all the cruelty and hardshi# of our world, we are not mere #risoners of fate$ 'ur actions matter, and can bend history in the direction of justice$ And yet ! would be remiss if ! did not ac%nowledge the considerable contro"ersy that your generous decision has generated$ !n #art, this is because ! am at the beginning, and not the end, of my labors on the world stage$ Com#ared to some of the giants of history who ha"e recei"ed this #rize & (chweitzer and )ing* Marshall and Mandela & my accom#lishments are slight$ And then there are the men and women around the world who ha"e been jailed and beaten in the #ursuit of justice* those who toil in humanitarian organizations to relie"e suffering* the unrecognized millions whose +uiet acts of courage and com#assion ins#ire e"en the most hardened of cynics$ ! cannot argue with those who find these men and women & some %nown, some obscure to all but those they hel# & to be far more deser"ing of this honor than !$ ,ut #erha#s the most #rofound issue surrounding my recei#t of this #rize is the fact that ! am the Commander-in-Chief of a nation in the midst of two wars$ 'ne of these wars is winding down$ .he other is a conflict that America did not see%* one in which we are joined by forty three other countries & including Norway & in an effort to defend oursel"es and all nations from further attac%s$ (till, we are at war, and ! am res#onsible for the de#loyment of thousands of young Americans to battle in a distant land$ (ome will %ill$ (ome will be %illed$ And so ! come here with an acute sense of the cost of armed conflict & filled with difficult +uestions about the relationshi# between war and #eace, and our effort to re#lace one with the other$ .hese +uestions are not new$ /ar, in one form or another, a##eared with the first man$ At the dawn of history, its morality was not +uestioned* it was

sim#ly a fact, li%e drought or disease & the manner in which tribes and then ci"ilizations sought #ower and settled their differences$ '"er time, as codes of law sought to control "iolence within grou#s, so did #hiloso#hers, clerics, and statesmen see% to regulate the destructi"e #ower of war$ .he conce#t of a 0just war1 emerged, suggesting that war is justified only when it meets certain #reconditions if it is waged as a last resort or in selfdefense* if the forced used is #ro#ortional, and if, whene"er #ossible, ci"ilians are s#ared from "iolence$ 2or most of history, this conce#t of just war was rarely obser"ed$ .he ca#acity of human beings to thin% u# new ways to %ill one another #ro"ed ine3haustible, as did our ca#acity to e3em#t from mercy those who loo% different or #ray to a different 4od$ /ars between armies ga"e way to wars between nations & total wars in which the distinction between combatant and ci"ilian became blurred$ !n the s#an of thirty years, such carnage would twice engulf this continent$ And while it is hard to concei"e of a cause more just than the defeat of the .hird Reich and the A3is #owers, /orld /ar !! was a conflict in which the total number of ci"ilians who died e3ceeded the number of soldiers who #erished$ !n the wa%e of such destruction, and with the ad"ent of the nuclear age, it became clear to "ictor and "an+uished ali%e that the world needed institutions to #re"ent another /orld /ar$ And so, a +uarter century after the 5nited (tates (enate rejected the 6eague of Nations & an idea for which /oodrow /ilson recei"ed this 7rize & America led the world in constructing an architecture to %ee# the #eace a Marshall 7lan and a 5nited Nations, mechanisms to go"ern the waging of war, treaties to #rotect human rights, #re"ent genocide, and restrict the most dangerous wea#ons$ !n many ways, these efforts succeeded$ Yes, terrible wars ha"e been fought, and atrocities committed$ ,ut there has been no .hird /orld /ar$ .he Cold /ar ended with jubilant crowds dismantling a wall$ Commerce has stitched much of the world together$ ,illions ha"e been lifted from #o"erty$ .he ideals of liberty, self-determination, e+uality and the rule of law ha"e haltingly ad"anced$ /e are the heirs of the fortitude and foresight of generations #ast, and it is a legacy for which my own country is rightfully #roud$ A decade into a new century, this old architecture is buc%ling under the weight of new threats$ .he world may no longer shudder at the #ros#ect of war between two nuclear su#er#owers, but #roliferation may increase the ris% of catastro#he$ .errorism has long been a tactic, but modern technology allows a few small men with outsized rage to murder innocents on a horrific scale$

Moreo"er, wars between nations ha"e increasingly gi"en way to wars within nations$ .he resurgence of ethnic or sectarian conflicts* the growth of secessionist mo"ements, insurgencies, and failed states* ha"e increasingly tra##ed ci"ilians in unending chaos$ !n today8s wars, many more ci"ilians are %illed than soldiers* the seeds of future conflict are sewn, economies are wrec%ed, ci"il societies torn asunder, refugees amassed, and children scarred$ ! do not bring with me today a definiti"e solution to the #roblems of war$ /hat ! do %now is that meeting these challenges will re+uire the same "ision, hard wor%, and #ersistence of those men and women who acted so boldly decades ago$ And it will re+uire us to thin% in new ways about the notions of just war and the im#erati"es of a just #eace$ /e must begin by ac%nowledging the hard truth that we will not eradicate "iolent conflict in our lifetimes$ .here will be times when nations & acting indi"idually or in concert & will find the use of force not only necessary but morally justified$ ! ma%e this statement mindful of what Martin 6uther )ing said in this same ceremony years ago & 09iolence ne"er brings #ermanent #eace$ !t sol"es no social #roblem it merely creates new and more com#licated ones$1 As someone who stands here as a direct conse+uence of Dr$ )ing8s life8s wor%, ! am li"ing testimony to the moral force of non-"iolence$ ! %now there is nothing wea% &nothing #assi"e & nothing na:"e & in the creed and li"es of 4andhi and )ing$ ,ut as a head of state sworn to #rotect and defend my nation, ! cannot be guided by their e3am#les alone$ ! face the world as it is, and cannot stand idle in the face of threats to the American #eo#le$ 2or ma%e no mista%e e"il does e3ist in the world$ A non-"iolent mo"ement could not ha"e halted Hitler8s armies$ Negotiations cannot con"ince al ;aeda8s leaders to lay down their arms$ .o say that force is sometimes necessary is not a call to cynicism & it is a recognition of history* the im#erfections of man and the limits of reason$ ! raise this #oint because in many countries there is a dee# ambi"alence about military action today, no matter the cause$ At times, this is joined by a refle3i"e sus#icion of America, the world8s sole military su#er#ower$ Yet the world must remember that it was not sim#ly international institutions & not just treaties and declarations & that brought stability to a #ost-/orld /ar !! world$ /hate"er mista%es we ha"e made, the #lain fact is this the 5nited (tates of America has hel#ed underwrite global security for more than si3 decades with the blood of our citizens and the strength of our arms$ .he

ser"ice and sacrifice of our men and women in uniform has #romoted #eace and #ros#erity from 4ermany to )orea, and enabled democracy to ta%e hold in #laces li%e the ,al%ans$ /e ha"e borne this burden not because we see% to im#ose our will$ /e ha"e done so out of enlightened self-interest & because we see% a better future for our children and grandchildren, and we belie"e that their li"es will be better if other #eo#les8 children and grandchildren can li"e in freedom and #ros#erity$ (o yes, the instruments of war do ha"e a role to #lay in #reser"ing the #eace$ And yet this truth must coe3ist with another & that no matter how justified, war #romises human tragedy$ .he soldier8s courage and sacrifice is full of glory, e3#ressing de"otion to country, to cause and to comrades in arms$ ,ut war itself is ne"er glorious, and we must ne"er trum#et it as such$ (o #art of our challenge is reconciling these two seemingly irreconcilable truths & that war is sometimes necessary, and war is at some le"el an e3#ression of human feelings$ Concretely, we must direct our effort to the tas% that 7resident )ennedy called for long ago$ 06et us focus,1 he said, 0on a more #ractical, more attainable #eace, based not on a sudden re"olution in human nature but on a gradual e"olution in human institutions$1 /hat might this e"olution loo% li%e< /hat might these #ractical ste#s be< .o begin with, ! belie"e that all nations & strong and wea% ali%e & must adhere to standards that go"ern the use of force$ ! & li%e any head of state & reser"e the right to act unilaterally if necessary to defend my nation$ Ne"ertheless, ! am con"inced that adhering to standards strengthens those who do, and isolates & and wea%ens & those who don8t$ .he world rallied around America after the =>?? attac%s, and continues to su##ort our efforts in Afghanistan, because of the horror of those senseless attac%s and the recognized #rinci#le of self-defense$ 6i%ewise, the world recognized the need to confront (addam Hussein when he in"aded )uwait & a consensus that sent a clear message to all about the cost of aggression$ 2urthermore, America cannot insist that others follow the rules of the road if we refuse to follow them oursel"es$ 2or when we don8t, our action can a##ear arbitrary, and undercut the legitimacy of future inter"ention & no matter how justified$ .his becomes #articularly im#ortant when the #ur#ose of military action e3tends beyond self defense or the defense of one nation against an aggressor$ More and more, we all confront difficult +uestions about how to #re"ent the

slaughter of ci"ilians by their own go"ernment, or to sto# a ci"il war whose "iolence and suffering can engulf an entire region$ ! belie"e that force can be justified on humanitarian grounds, as it was in the ,al%ans, or in other #laces that ha"e been scarred by war$ !naction tears at our conscience and can lead to more costly inter"ention later$ .hat is why all res#onsible nations must embrace the role that militaries with a clear mandate can #lay to %ee# the #eace$ America8s commitment to global security will ne"er wai"er$ ,ut in a world in which threats are more diffuse, and missions more com#le3, America cannot act alone$ .his is true in Afghanistan$ .his is true in failed states li%e (omalia, where terrorism and #iracy is joined by famine and human suffering$ And sadly, it will continue to be true in unstable regions for years to come$ .he leaders and soldiers of NA.' countries & and other friends and allies & demonstrate this truth through the ca#acity and courage they ha"e shown in Afghanistan$ ,ut in many countries, there is a disconnect between the efforts of those who ser"e and the ambi"alence of the broader #ublic$ ! understand why war is not #o#ular$ ,ut ! also %now this the belief that #eace is desirable is rarely enough to achie"e it$ 7eace re+uires res#onsibility$ 7eace entails sacrifice$ .hat is why NA.' continues to be indis#ensable$ .hat is why we must strengthen 5N and regional #eace%ee#ing, and not lea"e the tas% to a few countries$ .hat is why we honor those who return home from #eace%ee#ing and training abroad to 'slo and Rome* to 'ttawa and (ydney* to Dha%a and )igali & we honor them not as ma%ers of war, but as wagers of #eace$ 6et me ma%e one final #oint about the use of force$ @"en as we ma%e difficult decisions about going to war, we must also thin% clearly about how we fight it$ .he Nobel Committee recognized this truth in awarding its first #rize for #eace to Henry Dunant & the founder of the Red Cross, and a dri"ing force behind the 4ene"a Con"entions$ /here force is necessary, we ha"e a moral and strategic interest in binding oursel"es to certain rules of conduct$ And e"en as we confront a "icious ad"ersary that abides by no rules, ! belie"e that the 5nited (tates of America must remain a standard bearer in the conduct of war$ .hat is what ma%es us different from those whom we fight$ .hat is a source of our strength$ .hat is why ! #rohibited torture$ .hat is why ! ordered the #rison at 4uantanamo ,ay closed$ And that is why ! ha"e reaffirmed America8s commitment to abide by the 4ene"a Con"entions$ /e lose oursel"es when we com#romise the "ery ideals that we fight to defend$ And we honor those ideals by u#holding them not just when it is easy, but when it is hard$

! ha"e s#o%en to the +uestions that must weigh on our minds and our hearts as we choose to wage war$ ,ut let me turn now to our effort to a"oid such tragic choices, and s#ea% of three ways that we can build a just and lasting #eace$ 2irst, in dealing with those nations that brea% rules and laws, ! belie"e that we must de"elo# alternati"es to "iolence that are tough enough to change beha"ior & for if we want a lasting #eace, then the words of the international community must mean something$ .hose regimes that brea% the rules must be held accountable$ (anctions must e3act a real #rice$ !ntransigence must be met with increased #ressure & and such #ressure e3ists only when the world stands together as one$ 'ne urgent e3am#le is the effort to #re"ent the s#read of nuclear wea#ons, and to see% a world without them$ !n the middle of the last century, nations agreed to be bound by a treaty whose bargain is clear all will ha"e access to #eaceful nuclear #ower* those without nuclear wea#ons will forsa%e them* and those with nuclear wea#ons will wor% toward disarmament$ ! am committed to u#holding this treaty$ !t is a center#iece of my foreign #olicy$ And ! am wor%ing with 7resident Med"ede" to reduce America and Russia8s nuclear stoc%#iles$ ,ut it is also incumbent u#on all of us to insist that nations li%e !ran and North )orea do not game the system$ .hose who claim to res#ect international law cannot a"ert their eyes when those laws are flouted$ .hose who care for their own security cannot ignore the danger of an arms race in the Middle @ast or @ast Asia$ .hose who see% #eace cannot stand idly by as nations arm themsel"es for nuclear war$ .he same #rinci#le a##lies to those who "iolate international law by brutalizing their own #eo#le$ /hen there is genocide in Darfur* systematic ra#e in Congo* or re#ression in ,urma & there must be conse+uences$ And the closer we stand together, the less li%ely we will be faced with the choice between armed inter"ention and com#licity in o##ression$ .his brings me to a second #oint & the nature of the #eace that we see%$ 2or #eace is not merely the absence of "isible conflict$ 'nly a just #eace based u#on the inherent rights and dignity of e"ery indi"idual can truly be lasting$ !t was this insight that dro"e drafters of the 5ni"ersal Declaration of Human Rights after the (econd /orld /ar$ !n the wa%e of de"astation, they recognized that if human rights are not #rotected, #eace is a hollow #romise$

And yet all too often, these words are ignored$ !n some countries, the failure to u#hold human rights is e3cused by the false suggestion that these are /estern #rinci#les, foreign to local cultures or stages of a nation8s de"elo#ment$ And within America, there has long been a tension between those who describe themsel"es as realists or idealists & a tension that suggests a star% choice between the narrow #ursuit of interests or an endless cam#aign to im#ose our "alues$ ! reject this choice$ ! belie"e that #eace is unstable where citizens are denied the right to s#ea% freely or worshi# as they #lease* choose their own leaders or assemble without fear$ 7ent u# grie"ances fester, and the su##ression of tribal and religious identity can lead to "iolence$ /e also %now that the o##osite is true$ 'nly when @uro#e became free did it finally find #eace$ America has ne"er fought a war against a democracy, and our closest friends are go"ernments that #rotect the rights of their citizens$ No matter how callously defined, neither America8s interests & nor the world8s &are ser"ed by the denial of human as#irations$ (o e"en as we res#ect the uni+ue culture and traditions of different countries, America will always be a "oice for those as#irations that are uni"ersal$ /e will bear witness to the +uiet dignity of reformers li%e Aung (ang (uu )yi* to the bra"ery of Aimbabweans who cast their ballots in the face of beatings* to the hundreds of thousands who ha"e marched silently through the streets of !ran$ !t is telling that the leaders of these go"ernments fear the as#irations of their own #eo#le more than the #ower of any other nation$ And it is the res#onsibility of all free #eo#le and free nations to ma%e clear to these mo"ements that ho#e and history are on their side 6et me also say this the #romotion of human rights cannot be about e3hortation alone$ At times, it must be cou#led with #ainsta%ing di#lomacy$ ! %now that engagement with re#ressi"e regimes lac%s the satisfying #urity of indignation$ ,ut ! also %now that sanctions without outreach & and condemnation without discussion & can carry forward a cri##ling status +uo$ No re#ressi"e regime can mo"e down a new #ath unless it has the choice of an o#en door$ !n light of the Cultural Re"olution8s horrors, Ni3on8s meeting with Mao a##eared ine3cusable & and yet it surely hel#ed set China on a #ath where millions of its citizens ha"e been lifted from #o"erty, and connected to o#en societies$ 7o#e Bohn 7aul8s engagement with 7oland created s#ace not just for the Catholic Church, but for labor leaders li%e 6ech /alesa$ Ronald Reagan8s efforts on arms control and embrace of perestroika not only im#ro"ed relations with the (o"iet 5nion, but em#owered dissidents throughout @astern @uro#e$ .here is no sim#le formula here$ ,ut we must try as best we can to balance

isolation and engagement* #ressure and incenti"es, so that human rights and dignity are ad"anced o"er time$ .hird, a just #eace includes not only ci"il and #olitical rights & it must encom#ass economic security and o##ortunity$ 2or true #eace is not just freedom from fear, but freedom from want$ !t is undoubtedly true that de"elo#ment rarely ta%es root without security* it is also true that security does not e3ist where human beings do not ha"e access to enough food, or clean water, or the medicine they need to sur"i"e$ !t does not e3ist where children cannot as#ire to a decent education or a job that su##orts a family$ .he absence of ho#e can rot a society from within$ And that is why hel#ing farmers feed their own #eo#le & or nations educate their children and care for the sic% & is not mere charity$ !t is also why the world must come together to confront climate change$ .here is little scientific dis#ute that if we do nothing, we will face more drought, famine and mass dis#lacement that will fuel more conflict for decades$ 2or this reason, it is not merely scientists and acti"ists who call for swift and forceful action & it is military leaders in my country and others who understand that our common security hangs in the balance$ Agreements among nations$ (trong institutions$ (u##ort for human rights$ !n"estments in de"elo#ment$ All of these are "ital ingredients in bringing about the e"olution that 7resident )ennedy s#o%e about$ And yet, ! do not belie"e that we will ha"e the will, or the staying #ower, to com#lete this wor% without something more & and that is the continued e3#ansion of our moral imagination* an insistence that there is something irreducible that we all share$ As the world grows smaller, you might thin% it would be easier for human beings to recognize how similar we are* to understand that we all basically want the same things* that we all ho#e for the chance to li"e out our li"es with some measure of ha##iness and fulfillment for oursel"es and our families$ And yet, gi"en the dizzying #ace of globalization, and the cultural le"eling of modernity, it should come as no sur#rise that #eo#le fear the loss of what they cherish about their #articular identities & their race, their tribe, and #erha#s most #owerfully their religion$ !n some #laces, this fear has led to conflict$ At times, it e"en feels li%e we are mo"ing bac%wards$ /e see it in Middle @ast, as the conflict between Arabs and Bews seems to harden$ /e see it in nations that are torn asunder by tribal lines$

Most dangerously, we see it in the way that religion is used to justify the murder of innocents by those who ha"e distorted and defiled the great religion of !slam, and who attac%ed my country from Afghanistan$ .hese e3tremists are not the first to %ill in the name of 4od* the cruelties of the Crusades are am#ly recorded$ ,ut they remind us that no Holy /ar can e"er be a just war$ 2or if you truly belie"e that you are carrying out di"ine will, then there is no need for restraint & no need to s#are the #regnant mother, or the medic, or e"en a #erson of one8s own faith$ (uch a war#ed "iew of religion is not just incom#atible with the conce#t of #eace, but the #ur#ose of faith & for the one rule that lies at the heart of e"ery major religion is that we do unto others as we would ha"e them do unto us$ Adhering to this law of lo"e has always been the core struggle of human nature$ /e are fallible$ /e ma%e mista%es, and fall "ictim to the tem#tations of #ride, and #ower, and sometimes e"il$ @"en those of us with the best intentions will at times fail to right the wrongs before us$ ,ut we do not ha"e to thin% that human nature is #erfect for us to still belie"e that the human condition can be #erfected$ /e do not ha"e to li"e in an idealized world to still reach for those ideals that will ma%e it a better #lace$ .he non-"iolence #racticed by men li%e 4andhi and )ing may not ha"e been #ractical or #ossible in e"ery circumstance, but the lo"e that they #reached & their faith in human #rogress & must always be the North (tar that guides us on our journey$ 2or if we lose that faith & if we dismiss it as silly or na:"e* if we di"orce it from the decisions that we ma%e on issues of war and #eace & then we lose what is best about humanity$ /e lose our sense of #ossibility$ /e lose our moral com#ass$ 6i%e generations ha"e before us, we must reject that future$ As Dr$ )ing said at this occasion so many years ago, 0! refuse to acce#t des#air as the final res#onse to the ambiguities of history$ ! refuse to acce#t the idea that the Cisness8 of man8s #resent nature ma%es him morally inca#able of reaching u# for the eternal Coughtness8 that fore"er confronts him$1 (o let us reach for the world that ought to be & that s#ar% of the di"ine that still stirs within each of our souls$ (omewhere today, in the here and now, a soldier sees he8s outgunned but stands firm to %ee# the #eace$ (omewhere today, in this world, a young #rotestor awaits the brutality of her go"ernment, but has the courage to march on$ (omewhere today, a mother facing #unishing #o"erty still ta%es the time to teach her child, who belie"es that a cruel world still has a #lace for his dreams$

6et us li"e by their e3am#le$ /e can ac%nowledge that o##ression will always be with us, and still stri"e for justice$ /e can admit the intractability of de#ra"ation, and still stri"e for dignity$ /e can understand that there will be war, and still stri"e for #eace$ /e can do that & for that is the story of human #rogress* that is the ho#e of all the world* and at this moment of challenge, that must be our wor% here on @arth$