Only a few weeks after his inauguration, Obama was awarded Nobel Prize due to his efforts to change

American policy. He closed CIA-run secret prisons and banned torture and other means of coercion during interrogation of suspected terrorists. He named Hillary Clinton secretary of state and promised to work more closely with the international community. In Iraq, Obama asked Robert Gates, secretary of defense of Bush to remain in that capacity in his administration. He also announced plan to withdraw most American troops from Iraq by the fall of 2010. Before his reign, a financial meltdown happened and it caught nearly everyone by surprise. Therefore it is the job for a president to recover the economy. He retained many of Bushs chief financial advisors; nearly all were Wall Street insiders. Critics grumbled but Obama had no choice because no one else understood the complicated mathematical models on which modern trading was based. By late March 2009, huge layoffs ensued and unemployment rose steadily. Obama pumped another $700 billion into the economy. In addition, Obama also reformed the health care. Obama wanted to provide health care to Americans who lacked it and to reduce health costs. Supported by Democratic leaders, Obama proposed a system that combines private and public health insurance. Companies with 50 or more employees would be required to provide health care insurance for employees and their families or they would face penalty. Most other person would be eligible for publicly supported health insurance. Elderly and poor Americans would continue to be covered by government. Private insurers would continue to insure millions of Americans, but could not kick out people out of the systems when they became ill. Obama intended to move in the direction of the Kyoto agreements, the economic crisis changed his mind. In late 2009, he withdrew support for an international agreement on atmospheric pollutants. Unfortunately, he faced the worst environmental disaster in America called Gulf Disaster. He forced BP to set aside $20 billon to cover damage claims and sacked the director of the Minerals Management Service for failing to adequately inspect the off shore platforms. He resurrected his campaign goal of promoting alternative sources of energy but such solutions seemed to lie far in the future. Afghanistan is the foreign policy issue for Obamas presidency. By late 2009, Obama who opposed the surges in Iraq sent another 30000 troops to Afghanistan.