On Afghanistan:  The unrealistic pretext was set by the neo-cons: Get Bin Laden’s head on a platter for George Bush, assure our access to oil transit routes for American Oil,get rid of Taliban government and change to “democracy.” The emotions that drove the U.S. into the war:  revenge, fear, energy-greed,ignorance of culture plus desire to try out newly developed weapons and make the Afghans more like us—modern, developed, educated, morally right etc. 
  Agencies driving the continuation in spite of reversals:  Pentagon, energy, and private contractors plus American exceptionalists who can’t admit mistakes and must “win” at all costs. Corporations making a lot of money and Pentagon is spending a lot of treasury money in the process.   
  Didn’t sound good from the start.  Doesn’t sound good now. Get out. Save lives. Save money.  Clean up the mess we made in destruction of properties, help wounded, homeless and hungry. Apologize and say goodbye. 
  PS Did America ever apologize for anything? Did it ever admit a mistake?  (Imagine what that would do to restore our image in the world!)

Sadly, Obama is the disease.  But the award is showing him for what he really is—a hack who needs all the propping up he can get.

it’s no skin off the norwegians’ nose if obama squanders what is perhaps the last opportunity this country will have to make the kind of major structural reforms we need to stave off irretrievable economic and social meltdown, because obama hasn’t got the guts to call off a war with vague objectives in the same country that militarily and financially exhausted the soviet union, leading to its collapse. 

our empire can collapse, too, from financial exhaustion if nothing else, and if that happens, the resulting political tone of the united states of america is unlikely to be anything peaceful or moderate.

sure, it’s nice the norwegians gave obama the prize, and it’s not just nice for him - it’s nice for all americans. It’s sort of like the norwegians sent us some pretty flowers with a card that says “hope you’re feeling better”.

thank you norway, we are feeling a bit better. but our corporatist militarist disease is serious and late stage. it will be terminal for american democracy if it isn’t treated.

it’s nice for a sick person to receive cards and flowers. but it doesn’t cure his disease.