President Barack Obama traveled to Norway today to accept the Nobel Peace Prize - an award many were shocked to see given to a world leader who had only been in office less than a year.

image: timesonline

The brevity of his 24 hour trip to Norway upset some of the country people, but the White House felt the victory celebrations were best kept short, considering the current issues facing the U.S., among them higher than ever unemployment rates, thousands of troops preparing for war following Obama's recent orders, and poll numbers dropping drastically.

Obama's lengthy acceptance speech for the peace prize was nearly twice the size of his inaugural address, and in it he defended his decision to send nearly 30,000 troops to war in Afghanistan, saying he "faces the world as it is" and that he is determined to protect and defend the United States.

"A nonviolent movement could not have halted Hitler's armies. Negotiations cannot convince al-Qaida's leaders to lay down their arms," Obama said. "To say that force is sometimes necessary is not a call to cynicism, it is a recognition of history."

Prior to the evening banquet, President Obama and his wife Michelle stepped onto their hotel balcony to wave to the crowds below, thousands who had gathered for a torchlight procession chanting "Yes we can" and "O-ba-ma."

Obama is the first sitting U.S. president in 90 years to receive the peace price and only the third president in history to receive the honor.

via AP