Nobel jury speaks out in defense of Obama prize

The Associated Press reports Nobel jury speaks out in defense of Obama prize.

"In a rare public defense of a process normally shrouded in secrecy, four of the Nobel jury's five judges spoke out this week about a selection they said was both merited and unanimous. To those who say a Nobel is too much too soon in Obama's young presidency, 'We simply disagree ... He got the prize for what he has done,' committee chairman Thorbjorn Jagland told The Associated Press by telephone from Strasbourg, France, where he was attending meetings of the Council of Europe. Jagland singled out Obama's efforts to heal the divide between the West and the Muslim world and scale down a Bush-era proposal for an anti-missile shield in Europe. 'All these things have contributed to — I wouldn't say a safer world — but a world with less tension,' he said."