Neda

With all the hubbub about whether Obama deserved the Nobel Peace Prize or not, this Washington Post editorial is probably right at this point:

We understand how much Scandinavians and other Europeans welcomed the end
of the Bush administration; in that sense, Mr. Obama's prize confirms that his
ascension to the presidency has improved America's image in the world, or at
least parts of it. But in offering this latest Euro-celebration of the 2008
election, the Norwegian committee has also demonstrated a certain cluelessness
about America. If anything animates Mr. Obama's critics in this country, it is
the impression that he is the focus of a global cult of personality. This prize,
at this time, only feeds that impression, and thus does him no favors
politically.

The Nobel Committee's decision is especially puzzling given that
a better alternative was readily apparent. This year, hundreds of thousands of
ordinary people in Iran braved ferocious official violence to demand their right
to vote and to speak freely. Dozens were killed, thousands imprisoned. One of
those killed was a young woman named Neda Agha-Soltan; her shooting by thugs working for the Islamist
theocracy, captured on video, moved the world. A posthumous award for Neda, as
the avatar of a democratic movement in Iran, would have recognized the
sacrifices that movement has made and encouraged its struggle in a dark hour.
Democracy in Iran would not only set a people free, it would also dramatically
improve the chances for world peace, since the regime that murdered her is
pursuing nuclear weapons in defiance of the international community.