American leadership about more than 'just bombing somebody', Obama says

President touts 'steady, persistent leadership' by administration in several landmark negotiations in 2015 including Paris climate talks and Iran nuclear deal

American leadership in the world "is not just a matter of us bombing somebody", Barack Obama insisted on Friday as he reeled off a year of achievements from a global climate deal to the Iran nuclear pact.

During an end-of-year press conference at the White House, the president also claimed steady progress in the war against Islamic State and expressed optimism about working with Congress to reform the criminal justice system, but declined to rule out the idea of going it alone to close the detention camp at Guantinamo Bay.