Obama Nobel Peace Prize speech: President Obama, commander in chief leading the nation in two wars, stood to accept the Nobel Peace Prize, with a speech that rooted his decisions in “just war” theory.

It’s a theory that dates back to moral theologian St. Augustine, which argues that war can be just if it is a last resort, waged in self-defense, relies on a proportional response to a grave threat, and spares civilians from violence.

America’s commitment to peace — through wars in Iraq and Afghanistan — stands on this, Obama told his Oslo audience today,

We cannot stand idle in the face of threats to the American people.

“The belief that peace is desirable is rarely enough to achieve it,” he said, adding that the USA should not be standing alone in fighting for peace.

“No Holy War can ever be a just war,” Obama also observed, calling it incompatible with the purpose of peace and the purpose of faith.

As he said at the beginning of the speech,

Our actions matter and can bend history in the direction of justice.

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