Reflection Paper On National Security

Submitted By Jake-Adler
Words: 1715
Pages: 7

2012 ELECTION
Barack Obama
National Security
President Obama is drawing down our troops in Afghanistan as we transition security responsibility to the Afghan people, and is on track to responsibly end the war there in 2014.
President Obama made the bold decision to order a raid on Osama bin Laden’s compound in Pakistan, eliminating the man responsible for the 9/11 attacks and the only leader al Qaeda had ever known.
In 2010, President Obama announced an international effort to secure all vulnerable nuclear materials in four years, and has worked to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons in Iran and North Korea.
President Obama has strengthened our alliances around the world with friends like Israel, our NATO allies, and our partners in Asia and Latin America. And he has brought together international coalitions to confront shared challenges, such as Iran’s nuclear program.

The Environment/Energy
President Obama established the first national safeguards to cut down on mercury and other toxic air emissions from power plants, which will prevent up to 11,000 premature deaths, 540,000 missed work days, and 130,000 cases of asthma each year, helping to keep our children out of the hospital and in school.
The President has taken historic steps to reduce carbon pollution in the United States, including establishing fuel economy standards that will cut the amount of carbon pollution from cars by a half, proposing standards to decrease carbon pollution from new power plants, and helping us transition to cleaner and more efficient energy sources.
President Obama has enacted the largest expansion of wilderness protection in a generation, and established the country’s first comprehensive ocean policy, supporting tens of millions of jobs and ensuring that more of our nation’s outdoor heritage can be enjoyed by future generations. From the Great Lakes to the Gulf and the Rockies to the Smoky Mountains, he is working to preserve our environment and protect our natural outdoor heritage.
Under President Obama’s watch we have more than doubled production of renewable energy from wind and solar, while investing in over 15,000 clean energy projects across the country.
President Obama is doubling fuel efficiency standards, which will save consumers more than $8,000 at the pump, create jobs in the American automobile industry, and save 12 billion barrels of oil.
Under President Obama, the United States has become a world leader in natural gas, and production is at an all-time high. He is promoting the safe, responsible development of our near 100-year supply of natural gas, which could support more than 600,000 new jobs by the end of the decade.
Under President Obama, we are producing more oil than we have in 14 years. He is helping expand domestic oil production by offering millions of acres of land for development—including opening up 75% of our oil and gas resources in the Gulf and Arctic—and is improving safety measures to prevent future spills.
Since President Obama took office, electricity generated from clean energy sources like wind and solar has doubled and his investments in clean energy and energy efficiency have supported nearly a quarter million jobs.
President Obama has made one of the most significant federal investments in clean coal technology in history. The Obama administration has attracted more than $10 billion in private investments, and in 2011, employment in the coal sector hit its highest level since 1996.

Economy
President Obama refused to let the American auto industry die. He took a chance on Americans, and it paid off. More than 1 million jobs were saved, the U.S. auto industry is roaring back and adding jobs and all government loans were paid back ahead of time.
U.S. manufacturing has added 459,000 jobs since January 2010—the most growth in a decade.
President Obama has a plan to bring jobs back to the U.S. by eliminating tax breaks for companies that ship jobs overseas, and