2009 Nobel Peace Prize Nobel Committee. A "Wall Street Journal" editorial, noting Obama's comment that the world's problems "can't be met by any one leader or any one nation", opined, "What this suggests to us—and to the Norwegians—is the end of what has been called 'American exceptionalism'. This is the view that U.S. values have universal application and should be promoted without apology, and defended with military force when necessary. Put in this context, we wonder if most Americans will count this peace-of-the-future prize as a compliment." "Washington Post" columnist Michael Gerson wrote that the committee members "have forfeited any claim to seriousness. Peace—the
2011 Nobel Peace Prize 2011 Nobel Peace Prize The 2011 Nobel Peace Prize was jointly awarded to three female political activists. Two African and one Asian female were awarded for their persistence in obtaining equal rights for women. The joint laureated were: Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Liberian activist Leymah Gbowee and Yemeni politician Tawakkul Karman "for their non-violent struggle for the safety of women and for women’s rights to full participation in peace-building work". In announcing the award on 7 October 2011, the chairman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, Thorbjørn Jagland, stressed the link between women's rights, peace and democracy. The winner is