The Never Ending Fight for Peace

President Barack Obama’s Nobel speech in Oslo, last Wednesday, is a refreshing reminder of the role that remains unfulfilled in the struggle against oppression.

President Obama approaches the audience with an intelligent rebuttal to those who questioned his candidacy for a peace prize. Those who claim that Obama was wrongfully nominated for an award of peace cite the fact that Obama is the Commander in Chief of a nation that has been at war since the turn of the century, as polluting Nobel Peace Prize’s legacy . Obama’s rebuttal illustrates justified war , as defined by the Geneva Convention, or a tool that can be used to bring stability, peace, and prosperity to the world.

Obama supports the role the United States plays in international security through a quick summary of a high-school understanding of the American military’s role in history. He notes that the justice dealt in World War II establishes America’s underwritten responsibility of global freedom; that it was only after the allies defeated the axis that Europe was free. President Obama is correct in this analysis. The United States is the premier force for promoting peace in the world, as she and her allies are burdened to kill for peace.

Hiding between the self righteousness of America and her allies lies the most enduring role for establishing peace in hostile regions: the voice for self-determination through peace and fairness in liberated countries. The West is capable of knocking over the first domino on the row toward Democracy and freedom, yet the dominoes stop, quiet and motionless before the tall wall of corruption. Corruption and warlordism stands in the way of the West and democracy in Afghanistan and Iraq . In both scenarios, the West set out to eradicate the cancerous tumor that feeds on the well being of the Afghans and the Iraqis and silences progress.

In Afghanistan, the United States supports a government known for its tribal prejudices, and its usage of offices as a front for extortion. The underwritings of the United States’ strategy in Afghan surmounts to nation building and building Kabul as the central power in Afghanistan. Afghans who fought for their autonomy in the late 1900 remember quiet-well the sacrifices made in the name of tribal independence; Liberty required slaying the Russian Bear. The United States, in a mild way, understands the difficulties facing nation-building in Kabul, yet it remains rhetorically and often absurdly in the sense that such difficulties are to be misrepresented as a mere annoyance of peace-bringing.

The embedded mission in Obama’s assertion that the war in Afghanistan is to destroy an evil as the United States did in liberating Europe does not add up with the realities of Afghanistan’s demographics We have carpeted “insurgent” or “terrorist” to mean any element of the Taliban or mujahedeen movement. It is not realistic to fight the Taliban, who legitimately took power in Afghanistan, without differing between the various elements of the ideology.

Being able to accept that not all Taliban members are terrorists or supporting international terrorism is the first true step in eliminating oppression. Ideologies don’t oppress people. Ideologies are cold, silent, and subtle in their framework—people oppress people. The role that needs to be filled is he who is not afraid to reintroduce dialogue on what makes a terrorist a terrorist.

The war in Afghanistan may not result in peace. The war in Iraq may not result in peace. The Nobel Prize awarded to Obama may not able him to bring peace. The struggle against oppression may never end. The cries that sweep the Afghan refugee camp may never fall silent. It’s the burden of good people to destroy evil and smother the flames of Hell wherever humans burn. It is the most noble cause for good people to sacrifice for those suffering from the torments of Hell on Earth. The fight against suffering is all that matters. Once the fight ends peace is unattainable. The truth is that people must fight for the peace of others.

This was a guest submission written by Jeff Morris. Jeff Morris is a writer and Political Science Major at Appalachian State University. Email him at morrisjr@appstate.edu.