2009 Nobel Peace Prize committee for a "hideous display of cynical politics". Stuart Rees, director of the Sydney Peace Foundation in Australia, questioned the award. "Perhaps the Nobel organisation wants to give him a magic wand. I think the guy is full of promise, but I don't think the promise has been realised yet particularly in regards the Middle East." In Asia and the Middle East: Afghanistan, President Hamid Karzai said that Obama was the "appropriate" person to win the Nobel Peace Prize. "His hard work and his new vision on global relations, his will and efforts for creating friendly and good relations at
2013 Nobel Peace Prize in that country [Syria] and end the suffering of its people." United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon congratulated the organisation's work. "USA Today" quoted a London-based Syrian opposition activist who doubted Syrian people would be celebrating the award. Similarly, a spokesperson for the Syrian National Coalition labelled the prize "ironic". Pakistani politician Imran Khan called on the USA and Russia to destroy their own chemical weapons. 2013 Nobel Peace Prize The 2013 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, for their "extensive work to eliminate chemical weapons". The award citation indicated the organization