In this photograph by Pete Souza, President Barack Obama holds a strategy review on Afghanistan in the Situation Room of the White House on September 30, 2009. Among his advisers in the room were Vice President Joseph R. Biden, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, chief of staff Rahm Emanuel, and Adm. Michael G. Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

In this photograph by Pete Souza, President Barack Obama's advisors listen to his speech on Afghanistan at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point on December 1, 2009. Seated from the right are Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton; Defense Secretary Robert Gates; Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric K. Shinseki; Adm. Michael G. Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; and Gen. David Howell Petraeus, commander of United States Central Command, among others.