It is not easy for a political figure leading his country at a time of two wars to speak at the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony, but President Barack Obama managed to finesse both the irony and the tension. His mantra might have been "Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum" (If you want peace, prepare for war), a principle that has guided leaders since ancient Rome.
The president suggested that war was on occasion necessary, citing not just several of the principles of a just war but arguing correctly that non-violence was feckless in the face of those such as Nazi Germany or al-Qaeda who recognize no limits in what they do or how they do it.
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