Gore's prize should spur U.S. action

Tennessee has grand reason to be proud of Al Gore, a Tennessean whose relentless efforts to raise awareness about global warming have led to his being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

Gore shares the prize with the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Gore may be getting most of the attention, but the overwhelming presence of scientific expertise backing up his warnings bolster the recognition of what Gore has accomplished. They deserve the award equally.

It was regrettable, however, that no sooner had this year's Peace Prize been announced than it was immediately analyzed for partisan political meaning. Gore graciously announced his appreciation for the honor, but some seemed to see the Nobel Peace Prize as nothing but a steppingstone to running for president. Gore has said he has no plans to run for president. It would be nice if he were allowed a moment to enjoy the global recognition.

The United States, including the period when Gore was vice president, has not been the leader it should have been on acknowledging and battling global warming. If the Peace Prize does nothing more than boost that action, it will have served a noble purpose.

Wrong time, place

Turkey lost no time in showing its displeasure at the House Foreign Affairs Committee decision to label the World War I mass killing of Armenians as genocide.

Turkey, which denies the death of 1.5 million Armenians was genocide, has ordered its ambassador home for consultations on the resolution approved 27-21 Wednesday. In addition, Turkey's naval commander canceled a scheduled trip to the United States. The U.S. ambassador to Turkey was called in so officials could express their "unease" over the legislation. For Turkey, it matters little that the pending resolution is not official policy and has no impact on U.S.-Turkish relations, which are foreign policy matters under the president's control. But it was taken as an insult.

There is a need to know and to understand what happened, to be aware of historical wrongs and, where possible, correct them. But judgment is not rendered though politicians legislating their official view of history.