President Obama has pulled the United States out of an economic and financial depression. He has reduced the deficit, created nine hundred thousand jobs ; the auto industry is doing well. When he came to power, the real estate sector was paralyzed, people lost their homes and were out on the streets, there were tens of thousands of people of unemployed. The financial system exploded, the automotive industry next to disappeared. When the President leaves the White House in January 2017, he also will leave a healthy economy.
Barack Obama was sworn in on 20 th January 2009 as the 44th president of the United States with two million people thronging on the Esplanade to attend this historic event. Historic because it is the first time a non-white accesses the highest office of the state. In his inaugural speech, Obama promised to break with the eight years of George W. Bush’s presidency. He defines himself as the heir of the ideals of Abraham Lincoln.
1. The economic stimulus package
The following month, on February 17 2009, he launched a stimulus plan of $ 787 billion. The aim of the plan was to end the economic crisis that had begun in 2008, caused by the bankruptcy of Lehman Bros. The plan consisted mainly of tax cuts and public investment to create 3.5 million jobs. Seven years later, the US economy was revived and unemployment has been brought down to 5%.
2. Obamacare
In March 2010, the «universal health insurance» known as Obamacare was enacted. With this scheme, the state subsidizes poor families who do not have access to private care. It was a success : eighteen million people are now insured thanks to this system. Within a year of its implementation, the results exceeded the expectations of the Ministry of Health. However, the document is still opposed by Republicans who consider it unconstitutional and brought it to the Supreme Court which ruled in favor of Obamacare in 2015.
3. The death of Osama bin Laden
The death in May 2011 of Osama Bin Laden, the leader of al-Qaida, ten years after the attack against the Twin Towers in New York, was another success for President Obama. Although this event sparked controversy, it was timely as Obama was preparing his bid for a second term.
4. Withdrawal from Afghanistan and Iraq
Obama managed to withdraw US troops from Iraq and Afghanistan, in accordance with his promise of the 2008 election campaign.
Military intervention in Afghanistan was launched after the attacks of 11 September 2001 in the United States. At the beginning of his first term, the president of the United States was considering an almost total withdrawal of the forces from the Afghan territory by the end of his second term in January 2017, leaving only » about 200 US military» as part of traditional bilateral military cooperation. But the situation in October 2015 was such that the President decided the workforce would be maintained at 9,800 men in 2016. In 2017, the number of soldiers present would be reduced to 5500 and spread over four sites.
5. The Snowden Affair
The Snowden affair erupted in June 2013 when Edward Snowden, a former employee of the National Security Agency (NSA) denounced the massive surveillance programs conducted by the US Secret Service. He revealed numerous global surveillance programs, many run by the NSA (National Security Agency) and the Five Eyes Intelligence Alliance with the cooperation of telecommunications companies and some European governments. These programs provide the NSA access to a gigantic amount of information on states, companies and individuals all over the world. The US harvested the data of the customers of the communications industry (Google, Facebook, Yahoo, etc.) and retained the data that these same customers exchanged privately through means of communication created by the giants of the net (email, messages, Skype conversations, etc.). Is it an Obamagate?
6. Coalition against Daech
The coalition against the Islamic State was created in 2014 during the second Iraqi civil war and the Syrian Civil War. Its aim was to intervene militarily in Iraq and Syria against the Islamic state or «Daech» and the Al-Nusra Front. It is still operating now.
7. The nuclear deal with Iran
The agreement reached in Vienna on the 14th July 2015 between Iran and the countries of the «P5 + 1» (the US, Russia, China, France, UK, Germany) was the final stage of long negotiations that lasted fourteen years. It is an undeniable success for Obama and a major turning point in the relations between the West and Iran. The challenge now is to implement the agreement, proceedings that could last at least ten years.
8. Thaw in the relations between the US and Cuba
The thaw between the US and Cuba mark a major diplomatic victory for presidents Obama and Raul Castro. The tension between the two states had begun in 1961 during the crisis of the Bay of Pigs. But there are still many obstacles to overcome. Some trade restrictions, the lifting of travel bans, investments are measures that are to follow. However, the embargo can not be lifted without the approval of Capitol Hill. The issue of the respect for human rights in Cuba remains an obstacle for Washington.
9. The issue of firearms
Barack Obama started his final year in office by announcing new initiatives to limit access to firearms, as guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the US Constitution. 30,000 people are killed by firearms in the United States each year. The proposed measures include: a generalization of judicial checks and psychiatric history of a prospective buyer before selling a weapon; effective enforcement of existing gun laws; an investment of five hundred million dollars to improve psychiatric care. Republicans strongly opposed to gun control immediately criticized the initiative.
10. The negotiations of the Trans-Pacific Partnership
The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) aimed at liberalizing trade and investment between twelve Pacific states and the US. The twelve Pacific states account for nearly 800 million people and represent approximately 40% of the global economy. The agreement is the final step of long discussions which had begun in 2008 and constitutes a political victory for president Obama who had made the conclusion of this agreement one of the main aims of his presidency.
11. The Guantanamo Detention Center
President Obama had promised to close down Guantanamo Detention Center. President Obama regrets not having been able to put an end to the antagonistic behaviour of the American Congress which prevents progress and with significant projects, such as a reform on immigration and a new legislation on arms.
To circumvent the paralysis of the Congress, the President has the right to act by decree, what he did do to prevent the deportation of immigrants. However, the problem is that when a presidential decree is passed, it is not respected at all because the opposition challenges it in court. During president Obama’s terms, the Republicans have questioned all the President’s actions. In the American system, the president is not all-powerful. Background checks, audits, controls must be put into motion by Congress. The judiciary is a strong third power in the United States. Even when a law is passed, it can be challenged by political opponents.
