Obama was awarded the
2009 Nobel Peace Prize for efforts in international diplomacy, a decision which drew both criticism and praise. During his first term, his administration responded to the
2008 financial crisis with measures including the
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, a major stimulus package to guide the economy in recovering from the
Great Recession; a partial extension of the
Bush tax cuts;
legislation to reform health care; and the
Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, a major financial regulation reform bill. Obama also appointed
Supreme Court justices
Sonia Sotomayor and
Elena Kagan, the former being the first
Hispanic American on the Supreme Court. He oversaw the end of the
Iraq War and ordered
Operation Neptune Spear, the raid that killed
Osama bin Laden, who was responsible for the
September 11 attacks. Obama downplayed Bush's
counterinsurgency model, expanding
air strikes and making extensive use of special forces, while encouraging greater reliance on host-government militaries. He also ordered the
2011 military intervention in Libya to implement
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973, contributing to the overthrow of
Muammar Gaddafi.