Obama's Traveling Abroad

Politico: Barack Obama was to have a military briefing from officials with the Joint Chiefs of Staff office last week, but canceled to attend Tim Russert’s funeral.

Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell confirmed the original plan for the meeting and said Obama was seeking a so-called “ops-intel” briefing.

Members of Congress typically request such information on military intelligence and operations in advance of foreign trips. Following a conversation last Monday with Iraq’s foreign minister, Obama told reporters that he intended to visit both Iraq and Afghanistan before the election.