6 reasons Donald Trump deserves Nobel Peace Prize

In February, nominations opened for the 2018 Nobel Peace Prize.

Since its inception in 1901, the Prize has gone to 104 individuals and 27 organizations. In some years, there were multiple winners. In other years (mainly World Wars I and II), there were none.

The criteria for the Prize come from the will of Alfred Nobel: "The person who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses." Despite these clear standards, Mother Teresa won in 1979 for humanitarian work, and Al Gore won in 2007 for global warming.

Controversy, inconsistency and political correctness have dogged the Prize.

Although nominated five times, Mahatma Gandhi never won. Yet, in 2010, Liu Xiaobo won "for his long and non-violent struggle for fundamental human rights in China." And in 2011, Ellen Sirleaf, Leymah Gbowee and Tawakkol Karman won "for their non-violent struggle for the safety of women and for women's rights."

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Two U.S. presidents have been honored for specific achievements. Theodore Roosevelt won in 1906 for "having negotiated peace in the Russo-Japanese war in 1904-5 … [and for having resolved] a dispute with Mexico by resorting to arbitration." From the official website www.nobelprize.org:

Roosevelt was the first statesman to be awarded the Peace Prize, and for the
first time the award was controversial. The Norwegian Left argued that Roosevelt was a "military mad" imperialist who completed the American conquest of the Philippines. Swedish newspapers wrote that Alfred Nobel was turning in his grave. … In domestic policy, Roosevelt was a radical within the Republican Party … and in 1919 he opposed U.S. membership of the new League of Nations.

Speaking of the League of Nations, Wilson won the Prize in 1919 for his efforts to establish the League. Ironically, Congress rejected U.S. membership in it.

Two U.S. presidents have won for nebulous, if not specious, reasons. Jimmy Carter won in 2002 "for his decades of untiring effort to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, to advance democracy and human rights, and to promote economic and social development." Less than a year into his presidency, Barack Obama won in 2009, reportedly "for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples."

Could another U.S. president win this year?

Based on the facts, Donald J. Trump is the leading contender, to wit:

• By credibly threatening the use of military force, he has brought the two Koreas into dialogue about officially ending the Korean War of the 1950s – like Theodore Roosevelt with the Russo-Japanese War. Most importantly for world peace, North Korea has begun to dial back its nuclear weapons program.
• In Syria, advancing humanitarian principles, Trump enforced the previously unenforced "red line" against a dictator who gassed his own people.
• In Eastern Europe, Trump authorized the forward deployment of anti-missile batteries to thwart Russian aggression.
• ISIS – a scourge of humanity and a disruptor of world peace – has been 95 percent destroyed by both direct and indirect U.S.-led coalition action under Trump.
• In Ukraine, Trump has sent arms to the brave Ukrainian people to enable them to resist Russian aggression and to re-establish peace.
• Iran – the largest state sponsor of global terrorism – continues to be a threat to world peace, pledging death to its enemies. Trump is about to repudiate the "Iran Nuclear Deal," which has given that country cover to develop its nuclear arsenal. Trump has said that military action is an option on the table. The mullahs would be well-advised to blink.

Trump has bent toward peace the wills of the bad actors on the global stage. His willingness to use force is Teddy Roosevelt's "big stick" that drives peace without the actual use of force. The only argument that evil understands is force.

Some criticize Trump's expansion of the U.S. military as "war-mongering." These people have forgotten (or, more likely, never knew) the words of Publius Flavius Vegetius Renatus, who, writing in fourth century A.D. Rome said, "Si tu veces pacem, para bellum," or, "If you want peace, prepare for war." The world works on realpolitik, not on liberals' wishful thinking.

President Trump's concrete actions for world peace in just 15 months are truly breathtaking. He is man of peace, both for the United States and for all of humanity. Surely, the Nobel Peace Prize committee cannot be blind to the man who consistently and relentlessly puts the ideals of Alfred Nobel into action around the globe.