With U.S. foreign policy in the doldrums on every front, President Obama‘s handlers decided it was time for action. And, so he jetted to Afghanistan to spend Memorial Day with the troops.

The fly-in to Bagram Airfield was only the first “photo op.” Two days later the president convened a Rose Garden press conference to announce his decision regarding future U.S. troop levels in Afghanistan and his timeline for ending America’s longest war once and for all. The next day, it was off to West Point to deliver “a major foreign policy address” at the commencement ceremony.