There are a lot of positive things to be said about President Obama’s speech accepting the Nobel Peace Prize. As others have pointed out, it makes sound arguments about the need to use force at times for the purpose of maintaining peace, the limits of non-violence for dealing with the world’s worst regimes, and the need for the nations of the world to think seriously about the case for hard-hitting sanctions if they want to avoid having to go war. All in all, it was a more nuanced speech that looks to be more in line than previous Obama speeches with traditional American statecraft, and even with speeches by his predecessor, the much maligned George W. Bush.
That said, there was a particularly sophistic element to the speech when it came to human rights and America’s concern with promoting them. To quote the president:
