Barack Obama’s foreign policy, by the numbers
During national security night at the Democratic convention on Thursday evening, we heard a lot about how Barack Obama has navigated international affairs. But what do those actions look like in practice? Here’s a quick rundown of some of the numbers underlying his foreign policy over the past four years: Reported drone strikes* in Pakistan: ...
During national security night at the Democratic convention on Thursday evening, we heard a lot about how Barack Obama has navigated international affairs. But what do those actions look like in practice? Here's a quick rundown of some of the numbers underlying his foreign policy over the past four years:
During national security night at the Democratic convention on Thursday evening, we heard a lot about how Barack Obama has navigated international affairs. But what do those actions look like in practice? Here’s a quick rundown of some of the numbers underlying his foreign policy over the past four years:
Reported drone strikes* in Pakistan: 282
Estimated militant casualities in Pakistani drone strikes (range): 1,349 – 2,330
Estimated civilian** casualties in Pakistani drone strikes (range): 37 – 52
Numbers of prisoners at Guantánamo Bay in 2009: 242
Number of prisoners at Guantánamo in 2012: 168
Troops withdrawn from Iraq: 142,000
U.S. casualties in Iraq: 264
Size of Afghan troop surge: 33,000
U.S. casualties in Afghanistan: 1,484
Number of nuclear warheads U.S. can deploy in 7 years under New START: 1,550
Free trade agreements: 3
Countries visited by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton: 108
Confidence in Obama in Europe (2009 – 2012): 86% – 80%
Confidence in Obama in Muslim countries (2009 – 2012): 33% – 24%
Confidence in Obama in Russia (2009 – 2012): 37% – 36%
Confidence in Obama in China (2009 – 2012): 62% – 38%
* Drone strikes are tallied starting from Obama’s inauguration on Jan. 20, 2009.
** These estimates do not include victims who were not identified in media reports as either militants or civilians.
Uri Friedman is deputy managing editor at Foreign Policy. Before joining FP, he reported for the Christian Science Monitor, worked on corporate strategy for Atlantic Media, helped launch the Atlantic Wire, and covered international affairs for the site. A proud native of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, he studied European history at the University of Pennsylvania and has lived in Barcelona, Spain and Geneva, Switzerland. Twitter: @UriLF
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