I think Obama is waiting for someone else to do something so he can say "It wasn't me". He has been blaming Bush so long, he is trying to figure out who he can blame for this indecision. He needs to stand up and act like a man for once in his life. Michelle is more of a man than he is. He has refused to accept the position of Commander-in-Chief unless there are photo ops to go along with it. Give him a mirror and maybe he will make a decision.
God how I wished we had competent people in the White House.
Madalyn

It would be refreshing to see this pushed through with the same vim and vigor of say, health care "reform" or "stimulus" plans.

What a horrible wast of ectoplasm.

This is difficult to witness. I've seen this country recover from the dark days of the Carter administration. I want to have faith that we will also emerge the current president's imbroglio, but I'm afraid that this spiral will continue. No elected official in power - Democrat or Republican - seems to grasp the enormity of the situation. I'm not just speaking of our military and the WOT, I'm speaking of every facet of American life that's being affected by the intrusion and incompetence of our leaders (I guess that's every facet of American life). Until we, as a people, raise the standards for elected officials, they will acquiesce to the lowest common denominator.

This president -- this moronic buffoon -- will ruin this country if he is not stopped in the mid-term elections but, unfortunately, there are no backbones on the Republican side, so it ain't looking so good. And if someone says 'Newt Gingrich' I swear, I will puke.

I never thought I would see a president dumber than Jimmy Carter, but if you live long enough...

Of course! Obama demands his military advisers foresee the political future of a foreign government new to democracy, and deliver a precise timetable for events to come which no responsible person would attempt to predict.

Then, when the reality deviates from the prediction in some measure, he will claim to have been "misled" by his military advisers and avail himself of the opportunity to run like frightened little girl. He might have got it out of his system by running out of Iraq (not that he isn't trying), but he could scarcely have abandoned Baghdad altogether after the phenomenal success of George W. Bush - damn his eyes! - "surge" strategy, which would have exposed Obama's planned retreat as the abject unilateral surrender it always was.

This leaves him only Afghanistan with which to prove to his anti-American Marxist base that he is as spineless and gutless as they hoped, figuring to fool the rest of his voters with a flimsy cover story because, after all, how smart can they be?

I am struck dumb by the sheer cogency of the following observation, sent by an anon emailer to Glen Reynold's Instapundit --

"The towers fell in New York on 9/11/01, Kabul fell to American led forces on 11/14/01. That's 65 days.

President Obama's hand-picked replacement commander in Afghanistan, GEN McChrystal, delivered his Afghanistan war plans to President Obama on 8/30/01, and President Obama hasn't acted on his General's recommendations as of today, 11/11/09. That's 73 days, and waiting."

Speechless.

Spread that one far and wide....

waa waa the decisions are so hard says the man child.

Where's the beef bambi?

This is the guy who was chairman of a Senate subcommitte on Afghanistan which he never held a single meeting.

This is the guy who claimed that Afghanistan was the war we should concentrate on and that he would do things differently.

This is the guy who in 2008 boasted that he had a plan for Afghanistan and that he had a team of experts who knew better than either Bush or McCain.

This is the guy who boasted about a new strategy in March 2009, and named McKrystal to run it.

One year after election, eight months after his new strategy announcement, and yet he dithers, stalls, makes excuses, and avoids making a decision; even when his own team, with 'General' Biden (the guy who Obama boasted had vast experience and expertise) gives him not one, not two, not three but FOUR options.

The President of the United States cannot vote 'Present'. Obama seems to still believe he is in the Illinois Senate.

Oh, and this is the guy who splashed huge banners on stage and in front of TV cameras with the phrase "Judgement to Lead". (Whatever the heck that really means.)

He can neither lead or judge, except when it comes to claiming cops acted stupidly.

I have to ask. What is the do we expect? We had a shooting of members of the military in Texas by a man who sat in a place of worship and heard hate speech. He sought out guidance from those who preach hate. In the White House we have a man who similarly listened to hate speech in a place of worship. He sought out those who share his views. Putting them in leadership positions in his administration. That the President makes decisions which seem to go against the best interests of the Nation should not be a surprise to anyone paying the slightest bit of attention. When you buy a pig in a poke, it might turn out to be a snake.

Actually, Hermie - he can lead very well.

As long as he actually doesn't have to make a decision about where to go. Or how to get there. Or who goes, and who stays. Or how to pay for it.

As long as he doesn't have to really lead, he's a great leader!

My irony meter just pegged.

Is Obama really trying to delay making a decision due to questions about corruption in the Karzai govt.?

Per the linked news report, "U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Thursday that she is concerned about Afghanistan's "corruption, lack of transparency, poor governance (and) absence of the rule of law."

The Wall St Journal is reporting: "President Barack Obama expressed fresh doubts about the credibility of Afghanistan's government in high-level discussions Wednesday over what troops to send there, after his ambassador to Kabul warned against any reinforcements until the Afghan regime cracks down on corruption.

Does ACORN has an affiliate there?

Barry is going to surrender.

Armchair Generals. Nice one.

I would not like to see the US bogged down in an unwinnable war with no end in sight, which is what Afghanistan is looking like. 8 years in and we're no closer to Enduring Freedom. But yeah, let's just throw more troops at it, that'll work.

Honestly, don't you think that the concerns of the US Ambassador should be listened to?

Alfonso: that obviously depends on the size of his or her flag lapel pin and whether or not they have a healthy distrust of book learnin'.

This was the place where you libs (especially the trolls) claimed that we should have been concentrating our efforts on and not Iraq. You said Bush dropped the ball.

It looks like Barry doesn't even want to touch the ball because he'd have to figure out what to do with it. (Which is strange since he claimed to have all the answers in 2008).

Barry is going to surrender.

Most likely, Garandfan. He's realized he can't dazzle the enemy with his speeches, his dithering confirms (to their mindset) that he's weak and uncertain - so better to declare a moral victory and walk away.

And what that means for the future is anyone's guess. But it won't be 'peace in our time'.

Hyper, my gay canadian friend, always takes the time to show how "snobby" liberals are.

If McCrystal was black and someone in the Taliban spoke insults to him at his tent, then Obama would be all over that. But since we are only talking about soldiers dying, well hell, take your time. Again, how many times does it have to be proven that the left hates the military? ww

I ask again, don't you think that the concerns of the US Ambassador should be listened to? Is it hating the military to question just exactly what we're sending them abroad to fight for, and who they'll be fighting alongside?

Also, most of the Afghan people don't want us there. Granted, we're the lesser of two evils in their eyes when compared with the Taliban, but the fact remains that most of them don't want us there. Does that count for nothing?