The Obamas planned for their Hawaiian holiday to be a private vacation, but the President took time away from his family to be debriefed about a would-be terror attack and make a surprise visit to Marines stationed in the area.

Obama and first lady Michelle Obama made a quick trip to Marine Corps Base Hawaii after a private day exchanging gifts and eating a holiday meal of roast beef at their rented home in Kailua — between briefings on the disrupted plot of suspected terrorism. While the White House has said the president does not plan public events, the unannounced visit — accompanied only by a few reporters and his Secret Service detail — was an opportunity for the wartime president to meet with men and women of the military, some of whom have carried out his orders in Iraq and Afghanistan.

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