2. Why were journalists surprised by the Committee's decision to award President Obama the Nobel Peace Prize?

3. What words are used in this article to explain the reasons people have for opposing the Committee's decision to award President Obama the Nobel Prize for Peace?

4. How did the Nobel Committee Chairman respond to suggestions from journalists that President Obama has been awarded the prize too early?

5. What is the Committee's motive for awarding the Peace Prize to President Obama?

6. Consider the following information, as well as the "Background" and "Resources" below. Do you think that President Obama should have been awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace this year? Explain your answer.

• Since World War II, the Peace Prize has principally been awarded to honor efforts in four main areas: arms control and disarmament, peace negotiation, democracy and human rights, and work aimed at creating a better organized and more peaceful world.
• The names of nominees are kept secret by the Nobel institute for 50 years. But those who are entitled to nominate are allowed to reveal the name of the person or organization they have proposed, if they wish to do so.
• This year's nominees included France's President Nicolas Sarkozy, French-Colombian activist and ex-hostage Ingrid Betancourt, Chinese dissident Hu Jia, Colombian peace broker Piedad Cordoba, Afghan rights activist Sima Samar, Zimbabwe's Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and Jordanian interfaith dialogue advocate Prince Ghazi bin Muhammad.
• Last year's winner was former Finnish president and career diplomat Martti Ahtisaari for his efforts on several continents, over more than three decades, to resolve international conflicts.
• Reuters notes that Barack Obama's presidency began less than two weeks before the February 1 deadline to nominate a person for the Nobel Prize.