Wall Street Ends 2011 Mixed
BLITZER: President Obama's heading into the 2012 election year with some foreign policy successes under his belt, but there's also plenty of room for his Republican rivals to criticize him and they're trying to make the most of it. Our chief White House correspondent, Jessica Yellin, takes a closer look at the president's past year on the global stage.</s>JESSICA YELLIN, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: In 2011 brought some foreign policy successes for President Obama. The hunt for Bin Laden came to a close.</s>BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: The United States has conducted an operation that killed Osama Bin Laden, the leader of al Qaeda.</s>YELLIN: An end to a controversial war and a campaign promise kept.</s>PRESIDENT OBAMA: As promised, the rest of our troops in Iraq will come home by the end of the year. After nearly nine years, America's war in Iraq will be over.</s>YELLIN: But since the December withdrawal, violence has rocked the country and critics have pounced.</s>SENATOR JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: It is clear that this decision of a complete pullout of the United States troops from Iraq is dictated by politics and not our national security interests.</s>YELLIN: The same critics decry the president's plans to withdraw the 90,000 troops currently in Afghanistan by 2014 as well as his policy toward Israel. A speech President Obama gave in May prompted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to lecture President Obama in the oval office.</s>BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: While Israel is prepared to make generous compromises for peace, it cannot go back to the 1967 lines.</s>YELLIN: Of course, 2011 was also the year of the Arab spring. A democratic protest movement whose goals the president embraced.</s>PRESIDENT OBAMA: There must be no doubt that the United States of America welcome changes that advances an opportunity.</s>YELLIN: In some cases, the protests turned violent. In March, President Obama authorized U.S. planes to assist NATO's military mission to protect the Libyan people from Moammar Gadhafi.</s>PRESIDENT OBAMA: Left unchecked, we have every reason to believe that Gadhafi would commit atrocities against his people.</s>YELLIN: Military action made a difference. Months later, Gadhafi was killed and his regime fell. U.S. took a different approach when violence erupted in Egypt and Syria. Republicans have reserved their sharpest criticism for the president's policy toward Iran and some Republican presidential candidates have described his posture toward enemies generally as appeasement. That word does not go over well at the White House.</s>PRESIDENT OBAMA: Ask Osama Bin Laden and the 22 out of 30 top al Qaeda leaders who have been taken off the field whether I engage in appeasement.</s>YELLIN: In the year ahead, there are some predictable challenges for the president, the uncertainty of a new regime in North Korea, rising tensions with Pakistan and broad instability in the Middle East. But remember, it's often the unexpected foreign policy crisis that shapes a president's legacy. Jessica Yellin, CNN, Washington.