Obama's Top 5 Achievements and Failures

• 01.16.2017, 11:47
•  America

Barack Obama left his post as the US President - a president that had both achievements and failures during his presidency. ''Armedia'' IAA presents top 5 achievements and failures of Obama's presidency. Some of the presented points were discussed and argued much but we depicted the most general and recognized policies Obama fulfilled being a president.

 

Achievements

The Iran Nuclear Agreement 

This agreement lifted international sanctions on Iran in exchange for setting a cap on Iran's use of enriched uranium. Iran agreed to allow transparency in their nuclear research, and to allow international inspectors into their nuclear facilities. Iran has so far honored the agreement.   

 

Obamacare

The affordable care act is considered to be his greatest domestic achievement. The goal was to           provide affordable health insurance for millions without coverage.

     

Improving LGBT Rights 

Obama ended the Defense of Marriage Act, ended "Don't Ask Don't Tell" while maintaining the right for gays, lesbians, and bisexuals to serve in the US military. He also became the first sitting president to come out in support of same sex marriage, which may or may not have influenced the Supreme Court. Obama has been perhaps the most pro-LGBT president in the US history.

 

Recovery Act

Obama recovered the economy during the worst recession since the Great Depression. In the wake of the global recession, he signed the Recovery Act, which cut taxes and saved millions of jobs.

 

Putting the End of the Cuban embargo

Every UN member country with the exception of Israel has condemned the US's longstanding embargo on Cuba. Ending the embargo is long overdue, and Obama has set in motion the first major steps towards finally putting an end to it. The upcoming administration has expressed their desire to continue in this direction, so as of now, it appears Obama will fulfill his efforts at finally ending the embargo on Cuba. 

 

Failures

Deporting Undocumented Workers

President Obama’s record on immigration has been a disaster. On the campaign trail in 2008, he promised to pass immigration reform within his first 100 days in office. That didn’t happen. Instead, he spent his first term deporting more undocumented workers than anyone before him.

In the year 2013 alone, his administration deported over 400,000 undocumented people. This took place while Democrats had huge majorities in the House and Senate. Sure, the president made an effort in 2010 to pass the Dream Act, but after losing out on the bill by five votes, he never put in a serious effort around immigration reform again. Consequently, 11 million undocumented residents are going into 2017 unsure of how long they will be able to remain in the country.

Obama’s effort on immigration was a complete failure; he didn’t even try with criminal justice reform. His indifference to substantial policy around criminal justice reform may go down as the biggest failures of his administration.

 Afghanistan War

No president in US history has ever spent the entirety of a two term presidency at war until now. One of Obama’s first actions as president was tripling the number of troops in Afghanistan. More than 2/3rds of all US casualties in the Afghanistan war occurred as the result of this troop surge, which ultimately failed to accomplish any of its goals.

Military action without congressional authorization, failed exit policies, bombed hospitals, bombed funerals, bombed weddings, and the assassination of US citizens without any legal charges or legal due process are just some of the atrocities that have been committed during this extended period of war. The US has been at war for 15 years straight now (8 of which were under Obama), making it the longest war in US history.

 

Not Closing Guantanamo Bay

Back in 2008, Obama campaigned on closing Guantanamo Bay, the detention camp for war criminals, terrorists and other enemies of the United States. Many Americans have heard horror stories about how the prison treats its inmates, and Obama’s humanitarian appeal to close Gitmo’s doors resonated with many voters.

Today, however, a slight majority of Americans favor leaving the detention center open. The Obama administration still says it wants to close the institution, but political and legal experts aren’t convinced it will be able to, due to a series of international laws and regulations. Regardless, Guantanamo Bay has become a sore spot for Obama.

 

Foreign Relations 

From the ongoing war in Iraq to the civil war in Syria to the growth of ISIS, Americans are unhappy with Obama. Besides, the tense relationship with Russia which much resembles the cold war is also unfavorable for the country. Most citizens want US to recover its relations with Moscow as soon as possible.