OSLO (November 11, 2004) - A very senior official close to King Harald V of Norway disclosed today that Mr. Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the chief terrorist in Iraq, is the top candidate for the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize. The final decision by the Norwegian Nobel Committee is expected by no later than November 15. This revelation seemed to confirm an early report by BBC News that Mr. Zarqawi is the dead-on favorite to win this year. The chairman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee declined to comment officially, but he told reporters that a potential selection of Mr. Zarqawi, who organized suicide bombings, personally murdered and beheaded innocent people in Iraq, is "well in line" with current and past practices of the Nobel foundation. He reminded the public that Mr. Yasser Arafat, who just died today in Paris, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1994, although he was considered the world's top terrorist in the second half of the 20th century. He added "no terror, no peace". He refused to comment on a recent motion of the Scandinavian members of the Nobel Peace Prize committee to award posthumously the 1943 Nobel Peace Price to Hitler and Stalin for their joint effort to bring peace to Europe in World War II. The prize was not awarded from 1939 to 1943.
Other candidates mentioned in the top list were French president Jacques Chirac for his peace keeping policy in the Ivory Coast and Mr. Bill Gates for being just the richest man in the world. The only other American candidate included in the top 10 list was Mr. Al Gore, however in the 10th place. Mr. Gore denounced the low ranking, he insisted that he was the top choice of the Norwegian committee and warned of "voter fraud in the selection process". He already deployed 10,000 lawyers to Oslo to make sure that the selection is fair and accurate. He added "if necessary, I will personally go to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague and sue."
