Carter to accept Nobel Peace Prize today

OSLO, Norway -- Former President Jimmy Carter, in Oslo to collect his Nobel Peace Prize, said Monday that his support of President Bush is solid, provided he keeps working through the United Nations and weapons inspectors for a solution in Iraq.

The former president will accept his Nobel diploma and medal, and give a traditional lecture, at a gala ceremony Tuesday in the Oslo City Hall. The prize also includes a $1 million cash award.

Carter said at a news conference he supports the stance of President Bush so long as he continues to work for a solution on Iraq through the United Nations.

The debate over Iraq is even more pertinent because Gunnar Berge, chairman of Peace Prize committee, said that singling out Carter for the honor should be considered a "kick in the leg" to Bush.

Carter is being honored "for his decades of untiring effort to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, to advance democracy and human rights, and to promote economic and social development."

The Nobel prizes, first awarded in 1901, were created by Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel in his will and are always presented on Dec. 10, the anniversary of his death in 1896.

The peace prize is awarded in Oslo, while prizes in economics, medicine, physics, chemistry and literature are presented in Sweden.