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 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 Syria , which underwent a long , multi-party civil war between the government of Bashar al-Assad , the Syrian opposition , and the Salafi jihadist group known as ISIL . 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 interfered in the 2016 U.S. presidential election , earning condemnation from the Obama administration
September 11 attacks
September 11 attacks
Foreign policy of the Barack Obama administration