What Does the Rest of the World Think About Obama's Presidency?

September 06, 2012 from Al Jazeera English

Barack Obama's victory in 2008 was celebrated around the world by those who saw it as a definitive break with the unpopular Bush legacy of foreign intervention. Obama the candidate promised to close the prison at Guantanamo Bay, improve relations with the Muslim world, and never degrade civil liberties at the expense of national security expediency. Obama the president, however, has earned low marks from activists and watchdogs, who point out that he has failed to close Guantanom and launched foreign military actions in the shadows, in the process crafting a doctrine that allows for the extrajudicial killing of American citizens. Patty Culhane reports from Washington DC.

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Obama administration foreign policy

U.S. President Barack Obama's foreign policy philosophy has been postulated as "The Obama Doctrine" by Washington Post columnist E.J. Dionne, which Dionne explains as "a form of realism unafraid to deploy American power but mindful that its use must be tempered by practical li... Explore this topic

Barack Obama

Barack Hussein Obama II (/bəˈrɑːk huːˈseɪn oʊˈbɑːmə/; born August 4, 1961) is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama served as a U.S. Senator representing the state of Illinois from January 2005 to Novemb... Explore this topic

Guantanamo Bay detention camp

The Guantanamo Bay detention camp is a detainment and interrogation facility of the United States military located within Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba. The facility was established in January 2002 by the Bush Administration to hold detainees it had determined to be connecte... Explore this topic

Presidency of Barack Obama

The Presidency of Barack Obama began at noon EST on January 20, 2009, when he became the 44th President of the United States. Obama was a United States Senator from Illinois at the time of his victory over Arizona Senator John McCain in the 2008 presidential election. Barack O... Explore this topic

Extrajudicial killing

An extrajudicial killing is the killing of a person by governmental authorities without the sanction of any judicial proceeding or legal process. Extrajudicial punishments are by their nature unlawful, since they bypass the due process of the legal jurisdiction in which they o... Explore this topic

Death of Osama bin Laden

On May 1, 2011, U.S. President Barack Obama authorized a raid on bin Laden's suspected location in Abbottabad, Pakistan. The operation was successfully carried out by United States Navy SEALs, with intelligence support from the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).[2][7] During t... Explore this topic

US-Israel relations

Israel–United States relations are an important factor in the United States government's overall policy in the Middle East, and Congress has placed considerable importance on the maintenance of a close and supportive relationship. The main expression of Congressional support f... Explore this topic

Withdrawal of US troops from Iraq

The withdrawal of American military forces from Iraq was started in June 2009 and was completed by December 2011, bringing an end to the Iraq War. The withdrawal of American military forces from Iraq was a contentious issue within the United States for much of the 2000s, being... Explore this topic

Muslim world

The term Muslim world has several meanings. In a religious sense, it refers to those who adhere to the teachings of Islam, referred to as Muslims. In a cultural sense, it refers to Islamic civilization, inclusive of non-Muslims living in that civilization. In a modern geopolit... Explore this topic

Drone attacks in Pakistan

The United States government has made hundreds of attacks on targets in northwest Pakistan since 2004 using drones controlled by the American Central Intelligence Agency's Special Activities Division. These attacks are part of the United States' War on Terror campaign, seeking... Explore this topic

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Obama administration foreign policy

Barack Obama

Guantanamo Bay detention camp

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