# The Ten Worst Nobel Peace Prize Winners **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 9, 2009, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ten-worst-nobel-peace-prize-winners/513252 "2009-10-09T23:15:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![blinkingblinking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ea5d25/32.png) [@blinkingblinking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blinkingblinking)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2009, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ten-worst-nobel-peace-prize-winners/513252/1 "2009-10-09T23:15:19Z")
Great article here- > **[The Ten Worst Nobel Peace Prize Winners](http://nhwatchdog.blogspot.com/2009/10/ten-worst-nobel-peace-prize-winners.html)** > > Barack Obama’s shocking selection as this year’s winner of the Nobel Peace Prize left some swearing, some giggling, and many simply stunned ... My list 1- Arafat 2- Kissinger 3- Gore 4- Obama 5- Mandela 6- Annan 7- Gorbachev 8- Kellogg 9- Yunus 10- Root ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2009, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ten-worst-nobel-peace-prize-winners/513252/2 "2009-10-09T23:18:30Z")
Kissenger and Arafat combined could probably fill all ten slots. ETA, wow, forgot Gorby. So with Gorbachev, Arafat and Kissenger, that’s a pretty gruesome list right there. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2009, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ten-worst-nobel-peace-prize-winners/513252/3 "2009-10-09T23:28:52Z")
> [@blinkingblinking](#): > > Great article here- > [NH Watchdog: The Ten Worst Nobel Peace Prize Winners](http://nhwatchdog.blogspot.com/2009/10/ten-worst-nobel-peace-prize-winners.html) > [@](#): > > Teddy Roosevelt- 1906- Roosevelt received the Prize largely for his role in mediating the Treaty of Portsmouth, which ended the Russo-Japanese War. Credit should have been given to the Japanese Navy, which effectively ended the war by sinking the Russian Navy at the Battle of Tsushima. :rolleyes: Just how do these people’s minds work? ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2009, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ten-worst-nobel-peace-prize-winners/513252/4 "2009-10-09T23:33:54Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > :rolleyes: Just how do these people’s minds work? War = Peace. If you kill all of the other countries people, you are the most peaceful, since there is no more war. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2009, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ten-worst-nobel-peace-prize-winners/513252/5 "2009-10-09T23:36:30Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > War = Peace. If you kill all of the other countries people, you are the most peaceful, since there is no more war. Ah. Romans. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2009, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ten-worst-nobel-peace-prize-winners/513252/6 "2009-10-10T00:00:51Z")
The reference to Elihu Root surprised me in how severely it chastised American imperialism. The tone of most of this seems rather rightish, so I might expect them to play those notes more quietly. Maybe they couldn’t come up with anything else. Bu they don’t get into total stretch territory till they get after Jody Williams for her anti-land mine work. ---
**Author:** ![Terraplane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/74df32/32.png) [@Terraplane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terraplane)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2009, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ten-worst-nobel-peace-prize-winners/513252/7 "2009-10-10T00:30:04Z")
I got to here before I closed the window. > [@](#): > > 1. Jimmy Carter- 2002- The worst ex-President in American history… Yeah, great article. Luckily it was at the top so I didn’t waste any more time. How does Obama fit on anybody’s Worst 10 list? I’ll agree he hasn’t done anything to deserve the prize (so would he, btw), but at least he hasn’t done actual harm, world-peace-wise. Seriously, worse than Gorbechev? ---
**Author:** ![prfw](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/dbc845/32.png) [@prfw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/prfw)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2009, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ten-worst-nobel-peace-prize-winners/513252/8 "2009-10-10T00:51:04Z")
Here’s my list of candidates for next year’s Nobel Peace Prize. 1. Kim Jong-Il 2. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad 3. Islam Karimov 4. Alexander Lukashenko 5. Hugo Chávez 6. Robert Mugabe 7. Michael Vick All of these are imminently qualified, since none have instigated a world war or been involved in a domestic genocide exceeding 1 million people we like. So, by the criterion of “having great potential” they should all be top candidates next year. And they will have actually held their jobs for more than two weeks at the time of their nomination, so they have demonstrated remarkable restraint by going for long periods without doing un-peacefullike stuff. Anyone I missed? ---
**Author:** ![Terraplane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/74df32/32.png) [@Terraplane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terraplane)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2009, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ten-worst-nobel-peace-prize-winners/513252/9 "2009-10-10T01:00:26Z")
> [@prfw](#): > > Here’s my list of candidates for next year’s Nobel Peace Prize. > > 1. Kim Jong-Il > 2. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad > 3. Islam Karimov > 4. Alexander Lukashenko > 5. Hugo Chávez > 6. Robert Mugabe > 7. Michael Vick > All of these are imminently qualified, since none have instigated a world war or been involved in a domestic genocide exceeding 1 million people we like. So, by the criterion of “having great potential” they should all be top candidates next year. > > And they will have actually held their jobs for more than two weeks at the time of their nomination, so they have demonstrated remarkable restraint by going for long periods without doing un-peacefullike stuff. > > Anyone I missed? You put a guy who is literally responsible for the death of millions as the first on your list. You put a guy who ran a dog fighting ring as the last. You really think these people are comparable to Barack Obama? You think you’re making a cogent point here? What is wrong with you? ---
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2009, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ten-worst-nobel-peace-prize-winners/513252/10 "2009-10-10T02:37:51Z")
> [@omgzebras](#): > > You put a guy who is literally responsible for the death of millions as the first on your list. You put a guy who ran a dog fighting ring as the last. You really think these people are comparable to Barack Obama? You think you’re making a cogent point here? What is wrong with you? It’s a JOKE. ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2009, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ten-worst-nobel-peace-prize-winners/513252/11 "2009-10-10T02:47:30Z")
> [@Curtis LeMay](#): > > It’s a JOKE. But it’s a little too clsoe to reality to be that funny… ---
**Author:** ![Terraplane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/74df32/32.png) [@Terraplane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terraplane)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2009, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ten-worst-nobel-peace-prize-winners/513252/12 "2009-10-10T02:50:06Z")
> [@Curtis LeMay](#): > > It’s a JOKE. It’s a retarded JOKE. I’m sure you laughed. ---
**Author:** ![Damuri\_Ajashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Damuri\_Ajashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damuri_Ajashi)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2009, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ten-worst-nobel-peace-prize-winners/513252/13 "2009-10-10T05:06:30Z")
> [@Curtis LeMay](#): > > It’s a JOKE. I’m afraid it wasn’t a ha ha I’m kidding joke. Its a "giving Obama the Nobel Peace Prize is so ridiculous that I think its like giving a Nobel peace prize to Kim Jong Il. I just don’t understand self proclaimed patriots that can cheer when America doesn’t get to host the Olympics and boos when the American President wins the Nobel peace prize. Sure it s bit much but Obama’s humble response and acknowledgement that he doesn’t really deserve it seemed to strike the right tone with me. I just don’t get people who want their country to fail because they don’t like Democrats in the white house. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2009, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ten-worst-nobel-peace-prize-winners/513252/14 "2009-10-10T05:50:07Z")
They only want that if there is a good, solid reason why its Obama’s fault. Its been a tough year for them, they need lots of hugs. ---
**Author:** ![Lantern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d26b3c/32.png) [@Lantern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lantern)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2009, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ten-worst-nobel-peace-prize-winners/513252/15 "2009-10-10T06:02:31Z")
That list from the blog is ridiculous. Gorbachev? He did far more to end the Cold War than any other person. Absolutely one of the most influential statesmen of the 20th century and far more important than Reagan. Carter? The man deserves two Nobels: one for his instrumental role in achieving the Camp David accord and the second, the one he actually got for his post-presidency efforts. His work to eradicate Guinea worm disease alone has probably saved millions of lives. Arafat? A complex and flawed leader to be sure but people underestimate the amount of courage it required on his part to sign the Oslo peace accord. If there is ever a comprehensive Arab-Israeli peace he will have played a crucial role. He definitely deserved the Nobel. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2009, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ten-worst-nobel-peace-prize-winners/513252/16 "2009-10-10T06:11:31Z")
A number of folks, me included, think Reagan totally screwed Gorbachev at Rejkavik, wouldn’t give him a bone on SDI, which didn’t work, doesn’t work, and most likely will never work. All because of the unholy lust on the neo-con part to see the Soviet Union fall, not reform. They wanted to dance on the grave, and didn’t care what it cost the Russian people. Getting their gloat on was all that mattered. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2009, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ten-worst-nobel-peace-prize-winners/513252/17 "2009-10-10T06:13:15Z")
That is a very right wing list. Menachem Begin won the nobel peace prize and he, like Arafat, was a terrorist at one point in his life. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2009, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ten-worst-nobel-peace-prize-winners/513252/18 "2009-10-10T06:16:54Z")
He won. A terrorist who wins is a statesman. ---
**Author:** ![Lantern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d26b3c/32.png) [@Lantern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lantern)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2009, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ten-worst-nobel-peace-prize-winners/513252/19 "2009-10-10T06:17:20Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > That is a very right wing list. Menachem Begin won the nobel peace prize and he, like Arafat, was a terrorist at one point in his life. Yes, that is a good point. Those who object to Arafat never seem to have a problem with Begin. IMO both prizes were well-deserved. ---
**Author:** ![mrpayday](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@mrpayday](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mrpayday)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2009, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ten-worst-nobel-peace-prize-winners/513252/20 "2009-10-10T06:20:39Z")
I really don’t see what was wrong with the anti-land mine person winning. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ten-worst-nobel-peace-prize-winners/513252.md?page=2)