On Tuesday, progressive campaigners Roots Action launched an online petition calling for the revocation of President Obama's 2009 Nobel Peace Prize.
"President Obama has made perpetual war look more perpetual than ever," reads the petition, which the group plans to send to the Norwegian Nobel Committee. And continues: "Today, there are more U.S. troops in Afghanistan than when Obama took office. His presidency has widened the use of drones and other instruments of remote killing in several countries."
Human rights and peace advocates have long-contested the awarding of the esteemed peace prize to an individual who has been called "one of the most militarily aggressive American leaders in decades" for his escalation of a widespread killer-drone campaign, prolonged wars in the Middle East, and enablement of prisoner abuse and indefinite detention.
Leah Bolger, an anti-war activist and former president of Veterans for Peace, said that Obama's assault on international human rights and the rule of law has confirmed the worries of progressives by nullifying the status of what was once an esteemed prize.
"The Nobel Committee has deeply diminished the prize by awarding it to Obama in the first place," Bolger said. "It is now obvious that they made a serious mistake. The Committee needs to revoke the prize in order to restore its value.”
And RootsAction co-founder Norman Solomon added, “If President Obama is to remain as a Nobel Peace Prize winner, then Bernie Madoff may as well be Financial Planner of the Year.”
Visitors to the group's site can see a live tally as well as comments from those who have signed.
"It is incomprehensible that Obama has elevated drone attacks," reads an entry signed by a man named Randall Curtis. Addressing the prize committee directly, he continues, "This is not in keeping with the peaceful and honorable principles of our democracy, so it would be proactive for you to revoke this honor."
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