The document promptly disappeared -- along with recommendations on what it will take to win -- until a slightly redacted version of the report was published by The Washington Post, on Sept. 21. The subsequent furor on Capitol Hill finally prompted the O-Team to convene a series of National Security Council meetings for a "re-evaluation of our Afghanistan policy" and to "devise an effective strategy."
Instead of ordering Gen. McChrystal to Washington to testify before the House and Senate Armed Services committees about his estimate of the situation in Afghanistan, he was rebuked publicly for giving previously authorized press interviews and a speech to a security think tank in London. Since then, administration spokesmen, talking on and off the record, constantly have informed us that Mr. Obama simply cannot be rushed into a decision on our commitment in Afghanistan.
On Oct. 18, White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel said a determination on additional troops and resources depends on "whether, in fact, there's an Afghan partner ready to fill that space that the U.S. troops would create and become a true partner in governing the Afghan country." Let's hope that Emanuel misspoke and did not mean to imply the U.S. is going to be a "partner" in governing Afghanistan. That would be a terrible mistake. But if he meant that decisions on Afghanistan will be postponed until after the final outcome of the Nov. 7 runoff between incumbent Hamid Karzai and his opponent, Abdullah Abdullah, that's nearly as bad.
The Taliban won't wait. Pakistan's current military offensive against radical Islamists in the mountainous Waziristan tribal region has forced thousands of insurgents to seek refuge closer to the border and in Afghanistan. Had the Obama administration decided months -- or even weeks -- ago to provide additional troops, mobility assets and resources for Gen. McChrystal, many Taliban fighters might well have decided to call it quits. That's precisely what precipitated the "Awakening" in Iraq after then-President George W. Bush ordered a "surge" in 2007.
The Obama administration has nothing to gain from further delay. The president's approval rating is now below 30 percent in some nationwide polling. Winter's hardship and privation are about to visit everyone in the wind-swept shadows of the Hindu Kush -- soldier and civilian alike. The Afghan people, huddled in the cold, are making up their minds about which side offers them the greatest hope for the future. A commitment now would make the contest next spring an easier fight. It's time for action -- not another alibi.
Oliver North
Oliver North is the host of
War Stories on the Fox News Channel, the author of
American Heroes in Special Operations and the founder and honorary chairman of
Freedom Alliance, a foundation that provides college scholarships to the sons and daughters of servicemembers killed or permanently disabled in the line of duty.