Obama questioned about his Noble Peace Prize and war on Syria

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Stockholmn, Sept 5: As Syria prepares itself for a possible attack from the United States, President Obama was thrown a volley of questions, out of which some put him in a spot.

Obama, who is in Sweden to be a part of a bilateral meeting, held a press conference on Wednesday along with Sweden Prime Minister Frederik Reinfedlt. During the press meet, a reporter brought up the question with regards to the possible Syria attack and Obama's 2009 Noble Peace Prize, said a report [read more]

The reporter confronted Obama and asked him, "I was wondering, could you describe the dilemma to being a Noble Peace Prize winner and getting ready to attack Syria?"

To this Obama responded saying that in his speech, whicle accpeting the award, he said that he was underserving as compared to the past recipients. But at times it is necessary to use military force.

"What I also described is the challenge all of us face, when we believe in peace but we confront a world that is full of violence," he said. "The question is what are our responsibilities? I've made every effort to end the war in Iraq, to wind down the war in Afghanistan, to strenghten our commitment to nultilateral action. To promote diplomacy as a solution to our problems. The question though, that all of us face as political leaders is: At what point we need to confront actions that are violating our common humanity?"

Obama quizzed about his Noble Peace Prize and Syrian attack

He went on to add that he would any day argue when he would see 400 children subjected to gas over 1,400 civilians dying senselessly in an environment where you already have thousands killed. "We have the opportunity to take some action that is meaningful even if it doesn't solve the entire problem, it may at least mitigate this particular problem, then the moral thing to do is not to stand by and do nothing," he said.

He went on to say that even though the world is critical of the US, every time something, some issue comes up, the entire world looks upto the nation to step up in times of crisis. "When bad stuff happens, first thing is people ask is what is United States going to do about it?"

Obama was awarded the Noble Peace Prize in 2009 shortly after took over his office. The announcement drew flak across the world. Obama in his speech said that he was 'underserving' of the prize, but he would still accept it as ' a call to action.'

The recent crisis in Syria has raised questions about US intentions where Obama is pressing for military attacks, thereby many asking 'did he forget that he is a Noble Peace Prize recipient."

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