Some of Obama's many accomplishments http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2011/09/the-terrorist-notches-on-obamas-belt/ Sep 30, 2011 8:08am The Terrorist Notches on Obamaâs Belt The list of senior terrorists killed during the Obama presidency is fairly extensive. Thereâs Osama bin Laden, of course, killed in May. Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) leader Anwar al-Awlaki as of today. Earlier this month officials confirmed that al Qaedaâs chief of Pakistan operations, Abu Hafs al-Shahri, was killed in Waziristan, Pakistan. In August, âAtiyah âAbd al-Rahman, the deputy leader of al Qaeda was killed. In June, one of the groupâs most dangerous commanders, Ilyas Kashmiri, was killed in Pakistan. In Yemen that same month, AQAP senior operatives Ammar al-Waâili, Abu Ali al-Harithi, and Ali Saleh Farhan were killed. In Somalia, Al-Qaâida in East Africa (AQEA) senior leader Harun Fazul was killed. Administration officials also herald the recent U.S./Pakistani joint arrest of Younis al-Mauritani in Quetta. Going back to August 2009, Tehrik e-Taliban Pakistan leader Baitullah Mahsud was killed in Pakistan. In September of that month, Jemayah Islamiya operational planner Noordin Muhammad Top was killed in Indonesia, and AQEA planner Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan was killed in Somalia. Then in December 2009 in Pakistan, al Qaeda operational commanders Saleh al-Somali and âAbdallah Saâid were killed. In February 2010, in Pakistan, Taliban deputy and military commander Abdul Ghani Beradar was captured; Haqqani network commander Muhammad Haqqani was killed; and Lashkar-e Jhangvi leader Qari Zafar was killed. In March 2010, al Qaeda operative Hussein al-Yemeni was killed in Pakistan, while senior Jemayah Islamiya operative Dulmatin - accused of being the mastermind behind the 2002 Bali bombings â was killed during a raid in Indonesia. In April 2010, al Qaeda in Iraq leaders Abu Ayyub al-Masri and Abu Omar al-Baghdadi were killed. In May, al Qaedaâs number three commander, Sheik Saeed al-Masri was killed. In June 2010 in Pakistan, al Qaeda commander Hamza al-Jawfi was killed. Remember when Rudy Giuliani warned that electing Barack Obama would mean that the U.S. played defense, not offense, against the terrorists? If this is defense, what does offense look like? -Jake Tapper http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0409/21156.html Obama signed off on taking out pirates President Barack Obama issued a standing order to use force against pirates holding an American captain hostage â including giving a Navy commander the authority to act if he believed the captainâs life was in danger, two senior defense officials said Sunday night. Navy snipers aboard the USS Bainbridge on Sunday shot and killed three of the pirates after the Bainbridgeâs commander gave the order, when a pirate was spotted aboard the lifeboat pointing an AK-47 rifle at Capt. Richard Phillips, one defense official said.
He Made Major Improvements in Foreign Relations and American Status Around the World 65. Visited more countries and met with more world leaders than any previous president during his first six months in office. http://bit.ly/hZycda 66. As he promised, he gave a speech at a major Islamic forum in Cairo early in his administration. http://nyti.ms/dKvY4g 67. Helped to restore America's reputation around the world as a global leader that does the "right thing" in world affairs, at least according to the rest of the world. http://bit.ly/h743y7 http://bit.ly/ho4TCr 68. Re-established and reinforced our partnership with NATO and other allies on strategic international issues. http://1.usa.gov/e7QuDj 69. Closed a number of secret detention facilities. http://nyti.ms/rpUc9l 70. Improved relations with Middle East countries by appointing special envoys. http://1.usa.gov/tiGAGe 71. Pushed for military to emphasize devlopment of foreign language skills. http://bit.ly/AxUCLV 72. Offered $400 million to the people living in Gaza, called on both Israel and the Palestinians to stop inciting violence. http://bit.ly/9axfWh 73. Refused to give Israel the green light to attack Iran over their possible nuclear program, and thus avoid another war that Republicans wanted. http://bit.ly/xVmSZK 74. Worked with Democratic Congress to make donations to Haiti tax deductible in 2009. http://huff.to/6YkAVY 75. Established a new U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue. http://1.usa.gov/eX28DP 76. Issued Executive Order blocking interference and helping to stabilize Somalia. http://1.usa.gov/hxdf8U 77. Established new, more reasonable policies in our relations with Cuba, such as allowing Cuban-Americans to visit their families and send money to support them. http://n.pr/hY3Kwa http://nyti.ms/emQBde 78. Ordered the closure of the prison at Guantanamo Bay. It was Republicans (and, unfortunately, progressive Democrats) who prevented follow through. http://bit.ly/eW6CVF 79. Ordered a review of our detention and interrogation policy, and prohibited the use of torture, or what Bush called "enhanced interrogation." He ordered interrogators to limit their actions to the Army Field manual. http://bit.ly/g6MTuC 80. Ordered all secret detention facilities in Eastern Europe and elsewhere to be closed. http://bbc.in/h6N9ax 81. Released the Bush torture memos. http://bit.ly/hWJ5z0 82. On his second day in office, he signed a detailed Executive Order that banned torture, reversed all Bush torture policies, and put the United States in compliance with the Geneva Convention. http://1.usa.gov/dL6Zve http://nyti.ms/hzWWys 83. In response to the emerging "Arab Spring," he created a Rapid Response fund, to assist emerging democracies with foreign aid, debt relief, technical assistance and investment packages in order to show that the United States stands with them. http://bit.ly/zfmGv9 84. Ended the F-22 program, saving $4 billion. Though the single-seat, twin-engine, fighter aircraft cost $358 million each, and the military had 187 built, the F-22 never flew a combat mission. http://slate.me/PYzmzT (The "fiscally conservative GOP fought to keep it.) 85. Passed the Iran Sanctions Act, to prevent war, and to encourage Iran to give up their nuclear program. http://1.usa.gov/wLtNjb 86. Ended the Iraq War. http://tgr.ph/ru0tyS 87. Authorized and oversaw a secret mission by SEAL Team Six to rescue two hostages held by Somali pirates. http://bit.ly/y8c9Fz 88. Through United Nations Ambassador Susan Rice, helped negotiate a peaceful split of Sudan into two countries, this allowing for the creation of an independent South Sudan. http://reut.rs/qzE0Tj