The Nobel Peace Prize

Claudia Rosett has some wonderful thoughts on the current Peace Prize winner:

Portents of the EU Nobel Peace Prize�
Commentators have been struggling to make sense of this year�s Nobel Peace Prize, which went to the quarreling, rioting, and crisis-ridden multilateral morass that is the European Union. The Nobel commendation praised the EU �for over six decades contributed to the advancement of peace and reconciliation, democracy and human rights in Europe.�

Among the saner responses to this was a column by former State Department adviser Christian Whiton, who asked �Is this a joke?� And, with a degree of lucidity that routinely eludes the Nobel Peace Prize Committee, former ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton, speaking on Fox News (about 5 minutes into this clip), noted that if Europe has had peace �It�s not because of the European Union. It�s because of American power,� which, he pointed out, has sheltered Europeans for decades, and given them a chance to work out their differences.

She then lists a couple of the more egregious Peace Prize winners. Why do they even bother. The "thinking" Nobel's are really worth something -- they choose good people. They are awarded by Sweden. The Peace Prize is awarded by Norway -- they could stop and nobody would really notice...