Barack Obama entered office determined to end America’s wars. Instead, his presidency helped redefine how America fights them.

Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya and the campaign against ISIS confronted the Obama administration with a fundamental strategic problem: how could the United States achieve its objectives without committing to another large-scale, open-ended ground war?

Obama at War examines how the administration responded—and what those decisions reveal about the changing character of American military power. It traces the evolution of Obama’s grand strategy from the withdrawal from Iraq and the Afghanistan surge to intervention in Libya and the return of US forces to combat ISIS.

At its heart is the relationship between strategy and the use of force. The book explores an emerging model of American warfare built around air power, intelligence, special operations, technological advantage, partners and limited deployments rather than mass conventional intervention.

But did this approach deliver strategic effect—or simply reduce the political and military costs of remaining at war?

Obama at War provides a critical assessment of the opportunities and limitations of military power during a period of profound strategic change. It examines the difficult relationship between political objectives, operational choices and military outcomes—and asks what the Obama experience can teach today’s commanders, strategists and policymakers about fighting limited wars in an era of persistent competition and conflict.

"The Obama administration came to office promising a different approach to American foreign policy, in particular by bringing an end to the costly wars inherited from its predecessor. Yet the realities of US military involvement in Iraq, Afghanistan and later on, Libya, proved considerably more complex. Through a detailed examination of these conflicts, Oliver Steward explores the relationship between presidential leadership, institutional pressures and changing strategic circumstances in shaping US policy. He brilliantly traces the tensions between Obama’s desire to limit America’s military commitments and the pressures that repeatedly drew him into conflict. Drawing on an impressive range of interviews with senior administration insiders, the book provides valuable insights into the decision-making processes behind these era-defining conflicts, the complexities of US grand strategy and the limits of presidential agency. It is a timely contribution to our understanding of American grand strategy and the enduring challenges of translating political objectives into effective foreign policy.”

Dr Matthew Ayton, author of The United States’ Proxy War in Syria 

"US Grand Strategy under the Obama administration sought to distance itself from its predecessor by downplaying US global power, such as concentrating on multilateralism, applying a more nuanced approach to counterterrorism and the pivot to Asia.  These were certainly momentous times. Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, a global financial crisis, the Arab Spring, the Iranian nuclear program and growing tensions in Asia; the Obama administration played key roles in all of them. As with every presidential administration’s foreign policy, the Obama Doctrine will come under scrutiny from both sides of the political aisle.  Oliver Steward has done a tremendous job of sifting through the complex and voluminous material on the subject and creating a serious and unbiased assessment. His work will be a primary reference source for years to come."

Arnold C. Dupuy, PhD, Schar School of Policy and Government, George Mason University

Publication date: 2nd November 2026

978-1-912440-83-2 pbk

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