Barack Obama

President Barrack Obama is the 44th and current president of the United States. He was elected in November of 2009, and was reelected for a second term in 2012. He serves as Commander in Chief of the United States military, and holds executive authority over its armed forces.

President Obama was born in Honolulu, Hawaii and graduated from Columbia University and Harvard Law School. After working as a civil rights attorney in Chicago, he served as a member of the Illinois Senate from 1997 to 2004. He went on to to serve as a U.S. senator until he was elected to the presidency.

Upon election, President Obama declared that operations in Iraq would end, and he announced a complete withdrawal in August of 2010. He increased the number of troops stationed in Afghanistan by 30,000 in 2009, but by 2013 declared his intentions to withdrawal from the region. During his presidency, Obama has engaged in a number of small conflicts such as destroying anti-air installations in Libya and sending military aid to Mali to combat the Islamist insurgency. His term also saw the elimination of Osama Bin Laden, the al-Qaida leader who orchestrated the September 11th attacks on the World Trade Center.