Foreign Policy

“But even more than interests, we’re bound by shared values. In each other’s journey we see reflections of our own. Colonists who broke free from empires. Pioneers who opened new frontiers. Citizens who have struggled to expand our nations’ promise to all people -- men and women, white, black and brown. We’re people of faith who must remember that all of us -- especially the most fortunate among us -- must do our part, especially for the least among us. We’re citizens who know that ensuring that democracies deliver for our people must be the work of all. This is our common history. This is our common heritage. We are all Americans.”

– President Obama, Palacio de La Moneda Cultural Center in Santiago, Chile, March 21, 2011

“Here, we see the future. As the world’s fastest-growing region-and home to more than half the global economy—the Asia Pacific is critical to achieving my highest priority: creating jobs and opportunity for the American people. With most of the world’s nuclear powers and some half of humanity, Asia will largely define whether the century ahead will be marked by conflict or cooperation, needless suffering or human progress.”

– President Obama, Australian Parliament, November 17, 2011

“The buildings that are now living monuments to European unity were not drawn from simple blueprints. They were born out of the blood of the first half of the 20th century and the resolve of the second. Men and women had to have the imagination to see a better future, and the courage to reach for it. Europeans and Americans had to have the sense of common purpose to join one another, and the patience and the persistence to see a long twilight struggle through.”

– President Obama, Strasbourg Town Hall, April 3, 2009

“Two years ago in Cairo, I began to broaden our engagement based upon mutual interests and mutual respect. I believed then -– and I believe now -– that we have a stake not just in the stability of nations, but in the self-determination of individuals. The status quo is not sustainable. Societies held together by fear and repression may offer the illusion of stability for a time, but they are built upon fault lines that will eventually tear asunder. So we face a historic opportunity. We have the chance to show that America values the dignity of the street vendor in Tunisia more than the raw power of the dictator. There must be no doubt that the United States of America welcomes change that advances self-determination and opportunity. Yes, there will be perils that accompany this moment of promise. But after decades of accepting the world as it is in the region, we have a chance to pursue the world as it should be.”

– President Obama, State Department, May 19, 2011

“That’s what I want to address today —- the future that the United States seeks in an interconnected world, and why I believe that India is indispensable to this vision; how we can forge a truly global partnership -— not just in one or two areas, but across many; not just for our mutual benefit, but for the benefit of the world.”

– President Obama, Remarks to the Joint Session of the Indian Parliament in New Delhi, India, November 8, 2010

"We are in Afghanistan to confront a common enemy that threatens the United States, our friends and allies, and the people of Afghanistan and Pakistan who have suffered the most at the hands of violent extremists."

– President Obama, Remarks on a New Strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan, March 27, 2009

“I don’t see Africa as a world apart; I see Africa as a fundamental part of our interconnected world. Whether it’s creating jobs in a global economy, or delivering education and health care, combating climate change, standing up to violent extremists who offer nothing but destruction, or promoting successful models of democracy and development —- for all this we have to have a strong, self-reliant and prosperous Africa…And the United States wants to be your partner.”

– President Obama, Young African Leaders Town Hall, August 3, 2010