In this Aug. 9, 2014, file photo, President Barack Obama second from left, walks from Marine One with Vice Commander of the 89th Airlift Wing at Andrew Air Force Base Col.
President Barack Obama returned to Washington just after midnight on Monday for a break from a summer vacation, during which airstrikes in Iraq and street clashes in the state of Missouri intruded on his golf and beach plans.
Barack Obama had meetings on both matters scheduled for Monday.
The exact reason for Obama's return remained unclear, though it appeared aimed in part at countering criticism that Obama was spending two weeks on the Massachusetts resort island of Martha's Vineyard in the midst of multiple crises.
His return to Washington was planned even before the U.S. military began striking targets in Iraq and before the standoff between police and protesters in Ferguson, Missouri, over shooting death of a black teenager.
Conditions in Ferguson deteriorated overnight and after Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon ordered National Guard troops to step in. Attorney General Eric Holder over the weekend ordered a federal medical examiner to perform a third autopsy on the teenager, Michael Brown.
In Iraq, Iraqi and Kurdish forces reported gaining back control of the country's largest dam from Islamic militants after two days of airstrikes.
The president was scheduled to return to the resort Tuesday night.
The president spent a leisurely Sunday on the island before his late night departure. He played a round of golf - his most frequent vacation activity - then attended a jazz concert and dinner with first lady Michelle Obama.
While Obama has had plenty of downtime since arriving in Martha's Vineyard a week ago, he also made two public statements about the situations in Iraq and Ferguson.