Foreign policy of the Barack Obama administration

The term Obama Doctrine is frequently used to describe the principles of US foreign policy under the Obama administration (2009–2017). He relied chiefly on his two highly experienced Secretaries of State: Hillary Clinton (2009–2013) and John Kerry (2013–2017), and Vice President Joe Biden.

Obama inherited the Iraq War, the Afghanistan War, and various aspects of the War on Terror, all of which began during the Bush administration. He presided over the gradual draw down of U.S. soldiers in Iraq, culminating in the near-total withdrawal of U.S. soldiers from Iraq in December 2011. After increasing the U.S. military presence in Afghanistan during his first term, Obama withdrew all but approximately 8,400 soldiers from Afghanistan during his second term. In 2011, Obama presided over a mission that led to the death of Osama bin Laden, the organizer of the September 11 attacks. The number of prisoners at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp fell dramatically during Obama's tenure, but, despite Obama's hopes to close the detention camp, 41 inmates remained at Guantanamo by the time that Obama left office. The Obama administration made increased use of drone strikes, particularly in Pakistan, targeting alleged Al-Qaeda leaders such as Anwar al-Awlaki. In 2013, Edward Snowden revealed the existence of an extensive government surveillance program known as PRISM, which Obama defended as "a circumscribed, narrow system directed at us being able to protect our people."

In 2010, a series of protests across North Africa and the Middle East known as the Arab Spring broke out, eventually turning into more severe forms of unrest in several countries. Obama helped organize a NATO-led intervention in Libya, ultimately resulting in the fall of Muammar Gaddafi's regime. Obama declined to become deeply involved in Syrian civil war between the government of Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian opposition, and the Salafi jihadist group known as ISIS. The U.S. supported the opposition throughout the civil war and occasionally executed strikes against ISIL. In 2014, after Russia annexed Crimea and intervened in Ukraine, Obama and other Western leaders imposed sanctions that contributed to a Russian financial crisis. Russia later intervened in the Syrian Civil War and was accused of interfering in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, earning condemnation from the Obama administration.

Seeking to shift the focus of U.S. foreign policy to East Asia, Obama organized a multi-nation free trade agreement known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), but the TPP was not ratified by Congress. Smaller trade agreements with South Korea, Colombia, and Panama were approved by Congress and entered into force. Obama initiated the Cuban thaw, providing diplomatic recognition to Cuba for the first time since the 1960s. His administration also negotiated the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, an accord in which Iran agreed to limit its nuclear program.

History

Background

Obama gave his first major foreign policy speech of his campaign on April 23, 2007, to the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, in which he outlined his foreign policy objectives, stressing five key points:

# "bringing a responsible end to this war in Iraq and refocusing on the critical challenges in the broader region,"
# "by building the first truly 21st century military and showing wisdom in how we deploy it,"
# "by marshalling a global effort to meet a threat that rises above all others in urgency – securing, destroying, and stopping the spread of weapons of mass destruction,"
# "rebuild and construct the alliances and partnerships necessary to meet common challenges and confront common threats", and
# "while America can help others build more secure societies, we must never forget that only the citizens of these nations can sustain them."

President-elect Obama nominated former rival, Senator Hillary Clinton to serve as his Secretary of State on December 1, 2008, and chose to keep Secretary of Defense Robert Gates as his Secretary of Defense. He appointed General James L. Jones to serve as his National Security Advisor and nominated Governor Janet Napolitano as Secretary of Homeland Security.

Clinton stated during her confirmation hearings that she believed that "the best way to advance America's interests in reducing global threats and seizing global opportunities is to design and implement global solutions." She stated, "We must use what has been called "smart power", the full range of tools at our disposal – diplomatic, economic, military, political, legal and cultural – picking the right tool or combination of tools for each situation. With smart power, diplomacy will be the vanguard of our foreign policy."

During the last weeks before his inauguration, in addition to the several major conflicts in the world, fighting related to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict erupted anew, specifically in Gaza, between Israel and the Hamas-led government. The 2008–2009 Israel–Gaza conflict ended in an uneasy cease-fire on January 18, 2009, two days prior to Obama's inauguration.

Initial themes

In his inaugural address, Obama, elaborating on his foreign policy, suggested that he hoped to begin the process of withdrawing from Iraq and continuing to focus on the conflict in Afghanistan. He also mentioned lessening the nuclear threat through "working tirelessly with old friends and former foes." He spoke about America's determination to combat terrorism by proclaiming that America's spirit is "stronger and cannot be broken – you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you." To the Muslim world, Obama extended an invite to "a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect." He also said that the United States was willing to "extend a hand" to those "who cling to power through corruption and deceit" if they "are willing to unclench" their fists.

On his first full day as president, Obama called on Israel to open the borders of Gaza, detailing early plans on his administration's peace plans for the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. Obama and Secretary of State Clinton named George Mitchell as Special Envoy for Middle East peace and Richard Holbrooke as special representative to Pakistan and Afghanistan on January 23, 2009. The Mitchell appointment signaled that Clinton might stay away from the direct Secretary-level negotiating that her predecessor, Condoleezza Rice, had spent much effort on during the previous two years.

Within less than a week in her new position, Secretary of State Clinton already called almost 40 foreign leaders or foreign ministers. She said the world was eager to see a new American foreign policy and that, "There is a great exhalation of breath going on around the world. We've got a lot of damage to repair." She did indicate that not every past policy would be repudiated, and specifically said it was essential that the six-party talks over the North Korean nuclear weapons program continue.

His trip to Denmark, that failed to convince the International Olympic Committee to award the 2016 Summer Olympics to Chicago, made Denmark the sixteenth country Obama visited since becoming president on January 20, 2009. This edged out Presidents Gerald Ford and George H.W. Bush (both tied at 15 visits in their first year) to make Obama the most traveled first year President.

Appointments

The administration appointed, or allowed to remain in office, 2,465 ambassadors. Most were career diplomats. 805 were political appointees. 110 of 150 ambassadorships were political in the Caribbean; 259 out of 358 appointees in Western Europe were political. Career diplomats dominated all other areas including: North and Central America, South America, Africa, Eastern Europe, Middle East, East Asia, South Asia and Oceania. In Central Asia, all appointees were career.

Americas

North America

Canada

After Obama's presidential election victory in 2008, it was announced that Mr. Obama's first international trip would be to Canada, which took place on February 19, 2009.

Aside from Canadian lobbying against "Buy American" provisions in the US stimulus package, relations between the two administrations had been smooth up to 2011. On February 4, 2011, Harper and Obama issued a "Declaration on a Shared Vision for Perimeter Security and Economic Competitiveness".

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who was elected in October 2015, visited the White House for an official visit and state dinner on March 10, 2016. Trudeau and Obama were reported to have shared warm personal relations during the visit, making humorous remarks about which country was better at hockey and which country had better beer. Obama complimented Trudeau's 2015 election campaign for its "message of hope and change" and "positive and optimistic vision". Obama and Trudeau also held "productive" discussions on climate change and relations between the two countries, and Trudeau invited Obama to speak in the Canadian parliament in Ottawa later in the year.

Cuba

During his presidential campaign in 2008, Obama asserted that his policy toward Cuba would be based on "libertad", promising that as President of the United States, he would push the Cuban government to embrace democratic reforms and free political prisoners. After his election, former Cuban President Fidel Castro said he was "open" to the idea of meeting with the president-elect. However most of his policies towards Cuba before 2014 were little changed from the Bush policies.

After Obama announced the intended closure of the Guantánamo Bay detention camp shortly after his inauguration, Cuban President Raúl Castro said Havana would continue to push for the U.S. to "liquidate" the entire Guantanamo Bay Naval Base and return the land to Cuba. He was joined by his brother Fidel, who abandoned his magnanimity toward the new U.S. president and demanded that the base be retroceded to Cuba.

While the United States House of Representatives passed legislation, backed by Obama, to ease certain travel and cash transactions imposed against Cuba by the U.S., on February 25, 2009, sanctions which were further eased by Obama unilaterally in April 2009, the president was initially coy about lifting the embargo against Cuba. Obama professed to view the embargo as a useful tool for leverage on pushing for reform in Cuba. This is in contrast to what Obama stated in 2004 when he said that it was time "to end the embargo with Cuba" because it had "utterly failed in the effort to overthrow Castro." Obama's stance had met criticism from both Fidel Castro and members of the U.S. government, including ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Richard Lugar. A panel with the Washington-based Brookings Institution released a report in late February 2009 urging Obama to normalize relations with Cuba.

On June 2, leading a delegation to Honduras for the Organization of American States General Assembly, Clinton affirmed that Cuba needed to reach a certain political and democratic standard to rejoin the organization. On 10 December 2013, Obama shook hands with Raul Castro at the state funeral of Nelson Mandela.

In December 2014, after the secret meetings, it was announced that Obama, with Pope Francis as an intermediary, had negotiated a restoration of relations with Cuba, more than a half-century after diplomatic ties were broken in 1961. Popularly dubbed the Cuban Thaw, ''The New Republic'' deemed the Cuban Thaw to be "Obama's finest foreign policy achievement." On July 1, 2015, Obama announced that formal diplomatic relations between Cuba and the United States would resume, and embassies would be opened in Washington and Havana. The countries' respective "interests sections" in one another's capitals were upgraded to embassies on July 20 and August 13, 2015, respectively.

Obama visited Havana, Cuba for two days in March 2016, becoming the first sitting U.S. president to arrive since Calvin Coolidge in 1928.

Honduras

On June 28, 2009, President Manuel Zelaya was arrested and exiled from the country. Obama condemned the action and described the event as a coup. On July 7, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met with Zelaya and agreed upon a U.S.-backed proposal for negotiations with the Micheletti government, mediated by President Óscar Arias of Costa Rica. At the conclusion of the meeting, Clinton announced the suspension of economic and military aid to the Honduran government. However, the U.S. led a group of Western Hempishere countries supporting the outcome of November 2009 presidential election of Porfirio Lobo as a way forward to resolve the situation.

South America

Argentina

President Obama made a state visit to Argentina on March 23–24, 2016 to improve the Argentina–United States relations under the administration of newly elected Argentine president, Mauricio Macri. This followed strained relations under predecessors Cristina Fernández de Kirchner and Néstor Kirchner regarding investments. Obama and Macri discussed ways to strengthen cooperation in promoting "universal values and interests," such as in the areas of security, energy, health and human rights, where the two presidents have agreed for American help to assist Argentina's counter-terrorism efforts, to contribute to peacekeeping missions, combat illegal drug trade and organized crime, respond to diseases and outbreaks like the Zika virus, and develop resources and renewable energy strategies.

Obama declared a "fresh era" of relations to help Argentina's credibility in the Latin American region and the world, and announced trade and economic initiatives to reset the countries' relations after years of tension.

Colombia

Obama continued Plan Colombia, a diplomatic aid initiative launched by President Bill Clinton to aid Colombia's economy. Partially as a result of Plan Colombia, Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos negotiated an agreement with the guerrilla organization FARC. Though Colombia remained a major producer of drugs, it saw remarkable progress in the reduction of kidnappings, homicides, and unemployment. In addition to continuing Plan Colombia, Obama appointed Bernard Aronson as a special envoy to the peace process between the Colombian government and FARC in order to facilitate negotiations. However, Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and others criticized Obama for engaging with FARC, an organization that appears on the State Department's list of terrorist organizations. Obama promised a continuation of its policy of financial aid to Colombia in the aftermath of the proposed peace deal.

Venezuela

While Obama set a conciliatory tone for his relations with Venezuela during his candidacy, saying he would be willing to meet with Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez without preconditions at a July 23, 2007, presidential debate, the Venezuelan leader had been fickle in his opinion of Obama. Even during the election he varied from liking Obama to saying that nothing would change with the US. Additionally, the Obama administration approved $5 million annual budget for backing opposition activities against the Venezuelan government.

In January 2009 Chávez derided Obama as taking the same stance toward Venezuela as Bush, but the next month, as the price of oil fell, Chavez communicated openness to discussions with the Obama administration. On February 15, 2009, Chávez said, "Any day is propitious for talking with President Barack Obama," but said later that month that he "couldn't care less" about meeting the new U.S. president ahead of an impending confrontation between the two leaders at the Summit of the Americas in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad, in mid-April.

However, as recently as the first week of March the same year, Chávez called upon Obama to follow the path to socialism, which he termed as the "only" way out of the global recession. "Come with us, align yourself, come with us on the road to socialism. This is the only path. Imagine a socialist revolution in the United States", Chávez told a group of workers in the southern Venezuelan state of Bolívar. He said that people were calling Obama a "socialist" for the measures of state intervention he is taking to counter the crisis, so it would not be too far-fetched to suggest that he might join the project of "21st century socialism" that the Venezuelan leader is heading. Later in March, he referred to Obama as a "poor ignoramus" for not knowing the situation in Latin America and even implied that Brazil's President Lula was not completely happy with his meeting with Obama. However the Brazilian Foreign Ministry denied that this was the case.

In Trinidad on April 17, 2009, Obama and Chávez met for the first time. Later, Chávez walked over to Obama during the summit, and handed him a copy of Open Veins of Latin America by Uruguayan author Eduardo Galeano, an essay about U.S. and European economic and political interference in the region. During the summit, Obama is reported to have said, to much applause, "We have at times been disengaged, and at times we sought to dictate our terms, but I pledge to you that we seek an equal partnership. There is no senior partner and junior partner in our relations".

In December 2014, during the Presidency of Chávez's successor, Nicolás Maduro, Obama signed a sanctions law on Venezuelan government officials.

Arctic

During Obama's presidency, there was increased global attention paid to the Arctic, and the challenges and opportunities present in the region. The Obama administration responded accordingly by placing significantly greater focus on the Arctic and Arctic issues than the Bush administration, achieving a notable first in September 2015 by becoming the first sitting president ever to visit the Arctic Circle.

The Arctic is divided between 8 Arctic states that serve as permanent members of the Arctic Council. The primary policy of the Obama administration within the region had been to facilitate cooperation among these states on regional issues. Upon assuming office, Obama looked to reset relations with Russia across the board; however, as US–Russian relations deteriorated in other matters of mutual interest, the Arctic remained a site of cooperation between the two states.

In 2011, the Arctic states created the Arctic Search and Rescue Agreement, which established the search parameters for Arctic states. Search and Rescue collaboration between states has since strengthened further with the creation of the Coast Guard Forum in 2015.

During Obama's presidency, the United States assumed chairmanship of the Arctic Council 2015-2017 and looked to launch major collaborative projects while in that office. During the United States chairmanship, the Arctic Council focused on improving economic and living conditions for Arctic communities; improving Arctic Ocean safety, security and stewardship; and addressing the impacts of climate change. The last Arctic Council meeting of Obama's presidency was in Maine in 4–6 October 2016 where the agenda focused on Arctic sustainable development and the climate.

Countering the regional effects of climate change was a major focus of the Obama presidency's Arctic policy, particularly during his final two years in office. Obama agreed in March 2016 to protect at least 17% of its Arctic territory from development during a joint event with Prime Minister Trudeau of Canada.

Within the Arctic Council, an expert group was created in 2015 investigating the threat posed by black carbon to the region which concluded its findings and recommendations in 2016. The administration had also looked to increase data sharing—a major agenda item at the inaugural White House Arctic Science Ministerial in September 2016.

While regional co-operation to counter joint challenges was the primary commitment of the Obama administration, US Arctic military capabilities also increased under Obama. In 2016, the ICEX exercise was carried out and was widely regarded to be a major success. President Obama had also commissioned two new US icebreakers in 2015.

Asia

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced in 2011 a rebalancing of foreign policy to give more emphasis to Asia, especially in response to the rapidly growing Chinese role in the region. She called for "a substantially increased investment – diplomatic, economic, strategic, and otherwise – in the Asia-Pacific region." As of 2014, many analysts did not find significant changes and some argued that the U.S. is again neglecting the region. Obama's support of the Trans-Pacific Partnership was motivated in large part by his goal to "pivot" the US to East Asia.

East Asia

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton left on her first foreign policy tour (to Asia) on February 15, 2009, with stops in Japan, China, South Korea, Philippines, and Indonesia. The Secretary had travelled to the region extensively, including at least three trips to various countries in the region in 2009, 2010 and 2011. In July 2012, Secretary Clinton traveled Mongolia, Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. The visit to Laos was the first by a Secretary of State in 57 years.

On April 1, 2009, Obama and Hu Jintao announced the establishment of the high-level U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue co-chaired by Hillary Clinton and Timothy Geithner on the U.S. side and Dai Bingguo and Wang Qishan on the Chinese side and on May 16, 2009, Obama personally announced the nomination of Jon Huntsman, Jr., the Republican Governor of Utah to fill the position of Ambassador to China. Huntsman was the only ambassador in the Administration to be personally announced by the President. Later that year, President Obama and Secretary Clinton made a high-profile trip to China on November 15–18, 2009 marking Obama's first visit to China. It was Obama's first presidential Asia trip since he was inducted. He also went to Japan, Singapore for the APEC summit and South Korea for the first U.S.-ASEAN summit. The United States Pacific Command had also been at the forefront of efforts to strengthen military relationships in the region. The United States and China often clashed over China's claims in the South China Sea, parts of which are also claimed by Vietnam, the Philippines and Malaysia.

In 2012, Obama became the first sitting American president to visit Cambodia and Myanmar.

In 2014, President Obama stated that the United States recognized Tibet as part of China but also encouraged the Chinese authorities to take steps to preserve the unique cultural, religious and linguistic identity of the Tibetan people.

In 2016, Obama became the first sitting American president to visit Laos, which the United States had bombed during the Vietnam War. Obama also increased funding to clean up unexploded ordnance in Laos.

North Korea

Relations between the U.S. and North Korea were contentious during the Obama administration, largely due to conflict over the North Korean nuclear weapons program and threats of military action. Not long after Obama took office North Korea elbowed its way back onto the international stage after a period of relative quiet, drawing accusations of planning a new long-range intercontinental ballistic missile test weeks after Obama was sworn in and performing an unannounced nuclear warhead and missile testing in late May 2009 to the disapproval of the State Department. Relations were further strained with the imprisonment of American journalists Euna Lee and Laura Ling for their alleged illegal entry into North Korean territory on assignment for a media organization. although both women were later released on August 5, 2009. Later that year, Pyongyang announced its intention to terminate the 1953 armistice ending hostilities in the Korean War on May 28, 2009, effectively restarting the nearly 60-year-old conflict, and prompting the South Korea-United States Combined Forces Command to Watchcon II, the second-highest alert level possible. In 2010, two more major incidents with North Korea occurred: the sinking of a South Korean Navy Ship that actuated new rounds of military exercises with South Korea as a direct military response to sinking and the Bombardment of Yeonpyeong prompting the US aircraft carrier to depart for joint exercises in the Yellow Sea with the Republic of Korea Navy, to deter further North Korean military action. In light of the geopolitical developments with North Korea, the Obama Administration had called the U.S.–South Korean alliance as a "cornerstone of US security in the Pacific Region." During Obama's presidency, North Korea's nuclear-weapons and missile program became "steadily more alarming" to the United States and Obama was criticized for failing to hinder or eliminate the program.

Japan

Japan, a major ally of the United States, has been engaged in a diplomatic dispute with China over control of the South China Sea. In then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's inaugural tour of East Asia, she reassured Japanese officials of Japan's centrality in the network of American alliances. In response to the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, the United States initiated Operation Tomodachi to support Japan in disaster relief following the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami earning gratitude from Japan's minister of defense, Toshimi Kitazawa who, while visiting the '' Ronald Reagan'', thanked its crew for its assistance as part of Operation Tomodachi saying, "I have never been more encouraged by and proud of the fact that the United States is our ally."

On May 27, 2016, Obama became the first sitting American president to visit Hiroshima, Japan, 71 years after the U.S. atomic bombing of Hiroshima towards the end of World War II. Accompanied by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzō Abe, Obama paid tribute to the victims of the bombing at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum. Although he was pressured to by atomic bomb survivor groups, he did not apologize for the decision to drop the bomb.

South Asia

The Obama administration's South Asian foreign policy was outlined in "The Obama Administration's Policy on South Asia" by Robert O. Blake, Jr., Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs, who wrote " r goal was and remains to support the development of sovereign, stable, democratic nations, integrated into the world economy and cooperating with one another, the United States, and our partners to advance regional security and stability."

At the start of the Obama administration there were several regional hot spots within South Asia including India and Pakistan.

In August 2009, Obama ordered the expansion of airstrikes to include the organization of Baitullah Mehsud, the militant chief reportedly behind the 2007 assassination of Benazir Bhutto, as priority targets.

The U.S. drone attacks in Pakistan, that were begun by President George W. Bush, increased substantially after an expansion of the attacks was authorized by President Barack Obama in 2009. Drones have resulted in civilian casualties, and intentionally targeted rescuers, funerals, and one U.S. citizen. UN reports have described the U.S. drone wars as extrajudicial killing and summary executions.

There was also tension between India and Pakistan who had both come into possession of nuclear weapons. This conflict had been ongoing since August 1947 after the Partition of India. Criticism had been leveled at the Obama administration for its apparent lack of an early response to U.S. foreign policy with India. The former director for South Asia in the National Security Council in the Bush administration, Xenia Dormandy claims that India is America's indispensable ally in the region and that the Obama administration should take steps to improve relations with India.

Afghanistan

On February 18, 2009, Obama announced that the U.S. military presence in Afghanistan would be bolstered by 17,000 new troops by the summer.

The number of American soldiers in Afghanistan would peak at 100,000 in 2010. David Petraeus replaced McChrystal in June 2010, after McChrystal's staff criticized White House personnel in a magazine article.

On June 22, 2011, President Obama addressed the nation from the White House in the East room where he stated "we will be able to remove 10,000 of our troops from Afghanistan by the end of this year, and we will bring home a total of 33,000 troops by next summer, fully recovering the surge I announced at West Point. After this initial reduction, our troops will continue coming home at a steady pace as Afghan security forces move into the lead. Our mission will change from combat to support. By 2014, this process of transition will be complete, and the Afghan people will be responsible for their own security".

In 2012, the U.S. and Afghanistan signed a strategic partnership agreement in which the U.S. agreed to hand over major combat operation to Afghan forces. That same year, the Obama administration designated Afghanistan as a major non-NATO ally.

In February 2013, Obama said the U.S. military would reduce the troop level in Afghanistan from 68,000 to 34,000 U.S. troops by February 2014.

In 2014, Obama announced that most troops would leave Afghanistan by late 2016, with a small force remaining at the US embassy. In September 2014, Ashraf Ghani succeeded Hamid Karzai as the President of Afghanistan after the U.S. helped negotiate a power-sharing agreement between Ghani and Abdullah Abdullah.

On January 1, 2015, the U.S. military ended Operation Enduring Freedom and began Resolute Support Mission, in which the U.S. shifted to more of a training role, although some combat operations continued.

In January 2015, United States Forces began conducting drone strikes in Afghanistan under the direction of the administration of the United States President Barack Obama against Taliban militants, Pakistani Taliban (TTP) militants, ISIL branch in Afghanistan militants and Al-Qaeda militants.

In October 2015, Obama announced that U.S. soldiers would remain in Afghanistan indefinitely in order support the Afghan government in the civil war against the Taliban, al-Qaeda, and ISIL. Joint Chiefs of Staff Chair Martin Dempsey framed the decision to keep soldiers in Afghanistan as part of a long-term counter-terrorism operation stretching across Central Asia. Obama left office with roughly 8,400 U.S. soldiers remaining in Afghanistan. President Joe Biden suddenly removed them all in August 2021.

Europe

Fabbrini in 2011 identified a cycle in anti-Americanism in Europe: modest in the 1990s, it grew explosively between 2003 and 2008, then declined after 2008. He sees the current version as related to images of American foreign policy-making as unrestrained by international institutions or world opinion. Thus it is the unilateral policy process and the arrogance of policy makers, not the specific policy decisions, that are decisive.

East Europe

Russia

Tensions remained as Russia pushed back against attempts at further eastward expansion of NATO and the European Union into areas that had previously been part of the Russian Empire and the USSR. Georgia and Ukraine were the major flash points. Early on, Obama called for a "reset" of relations with Russia, and in 2009 the policy became known as the Russian reset; but critics debated whether or not it could improve bilateral relations or was about to concede too much to Russia.

At the end of March 2014, president Obama dismissed Russia as a "regional power" that did not pose a major security threat to the U.S. The statement was later sharply criticised by Putin as "disrespectful" and an attempt to prove America's exceptionalism as well as by the president of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker who in November 2016 said, "We have a lot to learn about the depths of Russia, we are very ignorant about it at the moment. ... Russia is not, as President Obama said, 'a regional power'. This was a big error in assessment."

After Russia's military intervention in Syria in 2015 and the alleged interference in the 2016 election campaign in the U.S., relations between the Russian government and Obama administration became more strained. In September 2016, the U.S. government publicly accused Russia of "flagrant violations of international law" in Syria. Thomas Friedman opined, "Obama believed that a combination of pressure and engagement would moderate Putin's behavior. That is the right approach, in theory, but it's now clear that we have underestimated the pressure needed to produce effective engagement, and we're going to have to step it up. This is not just about the politics of Syria and Ukraine anymore. It's now also about America, Europe, basic civilized norms and the integrity of our democratic institutions." George Robertson, a former UK defense secretary and NATO secretary-general, said that Obama had "allowed Putin to jump back on the world stage and test the resolve of the West", adding that the legacy of this disaster would last.

In mid-November 2016, the Kremlin accused president Obama's administration of trying to damage the U.S.' relationship with Russia to a degree that would render normalisation thereof impossible for the incoming administration of Donald Trump.

In December 2017, Mike Rogers, who was Chairman of the House of Representatives' Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence in 2011–2015, said that Obama and his inner circle had a habit of rejecting the idea that Russia under Putin was a resurgent and perilous adversary; and this dismissiveness on Russia "filter dits way down".

Ukraine

In the wake of the Euromaidan protests the Obama administration embraced the new government of Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk. After Russia began to occupy the Crimean peninsula Obama warned Russia of "severe consequences" if Russia annexed the region and attempted to negotiate a withdraw of Russian troops. To date, all negotiations have been unsuccessful. On December 18, 2014, Obama signed into law Ukraine Freedom Support Act of 2014. Since early 2014, Russia has maintained de facto control over the peninsula.

Middle East

The Wilsonian goal to promote democracy in the region seemed feasible when the Arab Spring broke out in 2010 and demanded democracy.

Bahrain

Some in the media questioned Obama's decision to welcome Bahrain in Prince Salman bin Hamad al-Khalifa in June 2011 because of the fierce crackdown on protesters in the country. The collaboration of Saudi Arabia and the other Gulf states with Bahrains royalty, had carried out mass repression since the middle of March. This included detaining, beating and torture of thousands. In June 2013, Obama urged meaningful reform in Bahrain. Bahraini officials rejected Obama's claims about sectarianism between Sunnis and Shias. Nevertheless, the Obama administration resumed providing arms and maintenance to the regime during its crackdown on pro-democracy groups, including ammunition, combat vehicle parts, communications equipment, Blackhawk helicopters, and an unidentified missile system. Accordingly, the administration's larger policy on dealing with the "Arab Spring" is to continue propping up longtime client regimes while fostering "regime alteration."

Egypt

After escalating demonstrations challenged the long-standing strong-man rule of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Obama and many European leaders called for him to step down and he did so in 2011. The Egyptians elected a new government based on the Muslim Brotherhood. However, the new President Mohamed Morsi