Well,

He is the commander-in-chief. Obviously the military should follow whatever the President orders in this case, this doesn't even deserve discussion.

What I would like, however, is that instead of all the debate happening behind closed doors - can we get the discussion from our military guys out in the open? Since I presume Obama does want to win the war in Afghanistan, I want to know if he is going against the word of his generals on the ground. Obama isn't a general, he didn't even serve. That doesn't disqualify him from making decisions regarding military policy - but he better listen to what his generals and advisers are telling him to do.

I really didn't like Gates remarks when he said they would debate this privately. Yes, I understand that we can't have cabinet members and generals calling the President out in the media . But, I still feel like a restrained, respectful expression of disagreement publicly by his advisers might do the country a whole lot of good. I'll be honest, I have 0 confidence in any decision Obama would make unless it is based soundly in the advice of his generals. If his goal was opposite to theirs, I would understand ignoring them; however, he has stated he wants to win the war - and he needs to listen to his generals. Perhaps I'm reading too much into it, but I always get the sense that Gates is reluctant that Obama will make the correct decision.

And to get in front of the "George Bush was no military genius either" strawman, I think both men have shown extreme naivete and incompetence on this matter and need to start listening to serious, critical advice.