Engage and Connect

When President Obama took office in 2009 America was engaged in two costly wars faced a global economic crisis and had a diminished standing with our allies and around the world. Today we’ve refocused and reaffirmed American leadership in the world recognizing that American strength comes not only from our military power but also our economic vitality the depth and breadth of our global partnerships and our values. We’ve taken away terrorist safe havens and resolved the Iranian nuclear issue through diplomacy. We opened relations with Cuba helped Colombia end Latin America’s longest war and we welcomed a democratically elected leader of Myanmar to the UN. Our assistance has helped people feed themselves care for the sick power communities across Africa and promote models of development and entrepreneurship rather than dependence. We worked together with other nations to establish a framework to protect our planet from the ravages of climate change. And we forged a future based on principles of open markets and accountable governance of democracy and human rights and international law—principles which remain the firmest foundation for human progress in this century. We’ve come a long way. Here’s how the President charted a new course in our foreign policy: wh.gov/foreign-policy #POTUSinReview