Barack Obama, commander in chief

Images of the president in his role as head of the U.S. military.

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U.S. Army Gen. David Petraeus, commander of the Multi-National Force in Iraq, gives then-Sen. Barack Obama an aerial tour over Baghdad on July 21, 2008. Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.) and Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.) joined the presidential candidate on his tour of the Middle East and Europe.

Lorie Jewell / U.S. ARMY

U.S. Navy Chief Petty Officer Bill Mesta replaces an official picture of outgoing President George W. Bush with that of newly-sworn-in President Obama, in the lobby of the headquarters of the U.S. Naval Station, in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Brennan Linsley / AP

Obama meets with Gen. Ray Odierno at Baghdad's Camp Victory. The president made a surprise visit to Iraq at the end of his first overseas trip to Europe as president.

Charles Dharapak / AP

Obama greets troops at Baghdad's Camp Victory on April 7, 2009.

Jim Young / REUTERS

Obama makes remarks after private meetings with President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan and President Asif Ali Zardari of Pakistan on May 6, 2009.

Bill O'Leary / THE WASHINGTON POST

On Air Force One on Oct. 2, 2009, Obama and Gen. Stanley McChrystal discuss the war in Afghanistan and the troops needed to fight it.

Pete Souza / THE WHITE HOUSE

Obama salutes during the dignified transfer of Sergeant Dale R. Griffin of Terre Haute, Ind., at Dover Air Force Base in Dover, Del., on Oct. 29, 2009. The president traveled to the base to meet the plane carrying the bodies of 18 American personnel killed in Afghanistan on Oct. 26, including Griffin.

Saul Loeb / AFP/GETTY IMAGES

On Dec. 1, 2009, at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, Obama outlines his plan for an initial increase of about 30,000 troops in Afghanistan, as prelude to transitioning U.S. forces out of that country.

Win McNamee / GETTY IMAGES

After Rolling Stone magazine publishes an article quoting McChrystal disparaging the Obama administration, Obama announces in the White House Rose Garden on June 23, 2010, that he is replacing McChrystal as top commander of the U.S. Force in Afghanistan with Petraeus.

Mark Wilson / GETTY IMAGES

Obama arrives to address troops at Bagram on Dec. 3, 2010. Paying a surprise visit to Afghanistan, he praised U.S. troops for their sacrifice and "important progress" in a nine-year war increasingly unpopular at home.

JIM YOUNG / REUTERS

Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, Secretray of Defense Robert Gates and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, along with members of the national security team, receive updates on the mission to capture Osama bin Laden on May 1, 2011.

PETE SOUZA / THE WHITE HOUSE

During a wreath-laying ceremony at Ground Zero on May 5, 2011, Obama carries a wreath with New York police officer Stephanie Moses, left, New York firefighter Joseph Lapointe and Port Authority police officer John Adorno. Obama also visited a New York Fire Department firehouse and met with families of victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attack.

Mario Tama / GETTY IMAGES

Obama awards U.S. Army Sgt. First Class Leroy Arthur Petry, from Santa Fe, N.M., the Medal of Honor during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House on July 12, 2011. Petry was the ninth service member to be named a recipient of the Medal of Honor for actions in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Charles Dharapak / AP

Obama addresses the troops at RAAF Darwin during a visit to Australia on Nov. 17, 2011. Obama signalled a pivotal US policy shift toward Asia, pledging not to let Washington's budget crunch compromise his expansive vision and military presence in the region.

Scott Barbour / GETTY IMAGES

Obama and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Ceremony on Dec. 12, 2011.

Carolyn Kaster / AP

Obama speaks during a tribute to the troops on Dec.14, 2011 at Fort Bragg, N.C. All U.S. troops left Iraq by Dec. 31.

U.S. soldiers assist Ugandan Airforce personnel in packaging food supplies at a military airbase in Entebbbe, Uganda on Dec. 6, 2011. The supplies were destined for frontline Ugandan troops hunting the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA). In October, Obama sent 100 special forces soldiers to track down LRA leader Joseph Kony, who has committed atrocities in the region for over two decades.

Michele Sibiloni / AFP/GETTY IMAGES

Pakistani tribesmen shout anti-U.S. slogans during a Feb. 25, 2012 protest in Islamabad against U.S. drone attacks. In Jan. 2012, Obama confirmed for the first time that U.S. drones target Taliban and al-Qaeda militants on Pakistani soil, but American officials do not discuss details of the covert program.

Aamir Qureshi / AFP/GETTY IMAGES

Obama delivers remarks at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) policy conference in Washington, D.C., on March 4, 2012. The said the U.S. won't hesitate to use military force to stop Iran from developing a nuclear weapon, while asserting there is still time for diplomacy and sanctions to work.

Ron Sachs / BLOOMBERG

Obama and Afghan President Hamid Karzai sign a strategic partnership agreement on May 2, 2012 at the presidential palace in Kabul.

Charles Dharapak / AP

Obama speaks to troops at Bagram Air Base in Kabul on May 2 after signing the Strategic Partnership Agreement with Karzai.

KEVIN LAMARQUE / REUTERS

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US President Barack Obama drinks a Guinness beer at The Dubliner pub on March 17, 2012 in Washington. Obama went to the bar to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. AFP PHOTO/Brendan SMIALOWSKI (Photo credit should read BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images)

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