Touring Asia, President Obama said Wednesday he’s still weeks away from deciding how many reinforcements to send to Afghanistan. One wonders whether he knows the trouble he is causing our troops with this continued dithering.

Our units are under enormous stress. Bing West reports on their operations in the latest issue of National Review. In Helmand Province they operate in small teams from tiny, sandbagged outposts near towns and villages. Leaving a few men behind to hold the fort, they go out every day, day in and day out, in groups of 10 or 12, patrolling the countryside and dodging fire from Taliban fighters well hidden in the hills.

They can’t hold any territory. The locals are not convinced they’ll be around long, so they don’t help them much, hoping instead that the Taliban will leave them alone.

These troops of ours, described as living in rough conditions worse than the poorest people in Afghanistan, need help.

They need to be reinforced so they can make headway, or they need to be pulled out. They deserve more than the news that a decision on reinforcing them is “weeks away.” (hh)