In mid-December, Admiral Michael Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, visited Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iraq to evaluate U.S. and Pakistani military efforts in the region. I took some pictures along the way.

Ever since Bill Clinton made himself a Democratic star with his televised rebuttal to the 1985 State of the Union address, hacks from both parties have been treating the response speech as a kind of "American Idol" for politics. From Bobby Jindal to Kathleen Sebelius to Bob Dole, the slot gets reserved for the presumptive Next Big Thing. But, as on "American Idol," the speakers often fall flat on their faces. Click through this TNR slideshow for a look at some of recent history's unfortunate State of the Union fizzles.

There's a certain art to the defiant farewell speech. After NBC announced its plan to push the "Tonight Show" to 12:05 a.m., in order to make room for Jay Leno at 11:35 p.m., Conan O’Brien decided to take a stand: “I sincerely believe that delaying the 'Tonight Show' into the next day to accommodate another comedy program will seriously damage what I consider to be the greatest franchise in the history of broadcasting,” he wrote. But Conan's revolt is small potatoes--the best (or worst) such farewells have always occurred in the field of politics.

When CIA handlers brought Humam Khalil Muhammad to Forward Operating Base Chapman last week, they thought he was a spy from Jordan, our trusted ally. But it turned out—tragically—that he was a double agent, recruited by Jordan to spy on Al Qaeda, but ultimately loyal to the terrorist organization. Click through this TNR slideshow to see some other famous double agents.

James Gardner, formerly the architecture critic of the New York Sun, now writes on culture for several publications. 

It must be nice to be the president. In addition to having helicopters, jumbo jets, and motorcades, you get to rifle through the cellars of the National Gallery and the Hirschhorn for artistic masterpieces to adorn your home for the next four to eight years.

It's certainly not the new OPEC, but, at the Copenhagen Climate Conference, a plucky bloc of low-lying oceanic countries has been doing a fair job of exerting outsize influence over the developed world. The Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS), whose members are among the most vulnerable to the effects of climate change, has threatened to torpedo the talks in lieu of dramatic emissions cuts. Who are these countries? How are they gumming up the works? Click through this TNR slideshow to find out.

After winning the Democratic primary to fill the late Senator Ted Kennedy’s seat, Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley is poised to become the Bay State’s first female senator. It's a bit late. Indeed, many Northeastern states only recently entered the female-senate-representation club, while the first women senators were from the South and Midwest. Click through this TNR slideshow for a look back at the first ten women who made their way into the ultimate boys’ society.

“It's not that I've got summititis here,” joked President Obama during the Fiscal Responsibility Summit last February. But doesn’t he? Since then, Obama has held at least 15 summits, including the "Beer Summit" and the "Distracted Driving Summit." Click here to read Jason Zengerle’s take on Obama's summit obsession and click through this TNR slideshow to see how summits have been devalued over the years.

Is this the end of Dubai's construction boom? Over the past decade, the tiny emirate has been on a tear, building the world's most ambitious hotels and luxury towers. But last fall, the financial crash strangled the country's credit lines, causing the cancellation or postponement of many of those exotic building plans.

Today is Thanksgiving, the holiday in which Americans count their blessings by binge eating, seeing family, and watching television. But we aren’t the only ones who mark time with massive feasts. Click through this TNR slideshow to see holidays from around the world in which other cultures stuff themselves.

The fate of Obamacare now rests with the Senate, and it will pivot on Harry Reid's ability to overcome one measure in particular: the filibuster. It wasn't always so easy to block legislation using this tactic, since senators no longer have to remain on the floor and read out loud until their wills--or their bladders--give out.

Ahh, the pundit-driven presidential boomlet. Every so often, a Washington prognosticator like David Brooks will latch on to an obscure figure--someone like the attractive, socially-conservative nonentity Senator John Thune--and extol his (or her) virtues to the heavens, explaining why only this person can redeem the party and become the next president. Admittedly, it sometimes works, but it's often just a passing fantasy.

This week, "Sesame Street" kicks off its fortieth season on air. But the TV show's transition to middle age hasn't been entirely smooth.

Where have all the RINOs gone? Not long ago, the GOP contained a number of recognizably liberal politicians, often identified as RINOs (Republicans In Name Only). But they've been hounded out of the party by movement conservatives, who have campaigned relentlessly against what they consider ideological apostasy. Click through today's TNR slideshow to see the last few members of this vanishing species.

President Obama's choice about Afghanistan isn’t getting any easier. Last week Matthew Hoh, a senior State Department official in the country, resigned to protest U.S. policies there. Hoh said he didn't "see the value or the worth in continued U.S. casualties or expenditures of resources in support of the Afghan government in what is, truly, a 35-year old civil war." This is not the first time a policymaker stepped down over choices made in Washington. Click through this TNR slideshow to see some historical wartime resignations.

Dick Cheney is not one to hold his fire. After leaving the White House, he's eschewed the low profile taken by past vice presidents in order to blast the Obama administration's national-security decisions frequently and openly. Click through this TNR slideshow to see the top ten most combative statements made by Cheney since January 20, 2009.

Yikes! Sarah Palin is slated to appear on "Oprah" next month to promote her new book, Going Rogue. It almost feels like an absolution for Palin, after Oprah's endorsement of Obama and her very public snub of Palin during the campaign. Of course Oprah has long held sway over politicians. Click through this slideshow to see other pols who have sat down with the daytime talk queen.

In a world without third-party candidates, Jon Corzine would be losing New Jersey's gubernatorial election. He's not an inspiring figure and his poll numbers have been stalled around 40% since April. Yet, ever since independent candidate Chris Daggett joined the race, he has been merrily siphoning votes off of Corzine's opponent. Now it looks like Corzine could win.

The saga of "Balloon Boy" is not yet over. The child captured the nation's attention when he was thought to be floating away in a large silvery balloon; but then he was subsequently discovered hiding in an attic and remarked that he did it “for the show.” Since that remark, there has been speculation that the mysterious antics of "Balloon Boy" were actually a publicity stunt.

It's fall in Washington, and the smell of fear is wafting through the halls of Congress. Economic dissatisfaction, anti-incumbent rage, and plain old fatigue are endangering legislators who know the next election is just thirteen months away. Click through this TNR slideshow to see profiles of the members of Congress who are most vulnerable in 2010.

As the New Jersey and Virginia governor's races head into the November 3 election, the ads are flying. Some are slick, some are stupid, and some are downright sleazy. Click through this TNR slideshow for a collection of spots from each race.

 According to Obama administration officials, Al Qaeda's capabilities have been severely degraded by a deadly combination of U.S. intelligence operations and unmanned aerial drone strikes. Now, the White House is reportedly considering a strategy that relies on these targeted assassinations over a troop increase in Afghanistan. Click through this slideshow to see some of the militants who have been killed by U.S. drones.

This week, the District of Columbia's city council introduced a bill that would authorize same-sex marriages within its boundaries. According to the Associated Press, the measure "appears unstoppable"—garnering support from most council members, the mayor, and a lack of opposition from the Democratic Congress. Depending how you count, that would make D.C. anywhere from the fifth to the eighth U.S. jurisdiction to legalize gay marriage.