As President Barack Obama travels to Oslo, Norway, to accept the Nobel Peace Prize this week, a national poll released Tuesday found only 26 percent of citizens believe the president still deserves the prize.
Quinnipiac University found 66 percent of citizens disapprove of the Nobel Committee's nomination.
According to a statement released by the Nobel Committee on Oct. 9, Obama was chosen for ""his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples."" However, some believe the president's decision to deploy more troops, such as his Dec. 1 order to deploy an additional 30,000 troops to Afghanistan, conflicts with the Committee's reason for his nomination.
""Increased deployment of United States troops in Afghanistan will aggravate the division and trust deficit between the two civilizations in conflict,"" said Bilal Allawala, chairman of UW-Madison's Pakistani Students Association. ""Mr. Obama does not deserve this Nobel Peace Prize because he is yet to prove himself, and by all means, so far it seems that Mr. Obama will only lead to more hate and suspicion in that part of the world for [the] United States.""
The poll found that some Democrats disapprove of Obama's nomination, with slightly less than half approving of his award.
Molly Rivera, chair of the College Democrats of Madison, said she believes the nation should not question the Committee's decision.
""You do not apply for this award, you don't put your name up for it,"" Rivera said. ""There's a committee in Norway of well-distinguished men that sit down and decide who they think should get it. Our politics are not involved. It's not up for us to decide.""
According to Rivera, the war in Afghanistan was not a factor in the Committee's decision. Had the Committee voted after the December announcement, they would have voted the same, Rivera said.
""I think that it's a great honor that the President of the United States received the Nobel Peace Prize, and I think that people let politics get in the way of such an honor,"" Rivera said.
Still, some believe the order of additional troops will only hurt U.S. foreign relations, contradicting Obama's reputation.
""We must not negate that the reaction that we will see in [the Middle East and South Asia] to the new policy,"" Allawala said. ""It will be of immense importance in determining the fate of [the] U.S. economy, politics, and security. A president who is putting all of this at stake without solid vision has never and shall never deserve a prestigious award such as the Nobel Peace Prize.""
