Early reports indicate that tonight President Obama will take ownership of the Afghan war. He will ask for more troops. He will promise to train Afghan forces with greater earnestness and speed. He will demand of President Karzai that he get his house in order and take responsibility for the wellbeing of his nation. And he will chart an exit strategy to point the way home for America's fighting men and women.

I'm ambivalent about this whole situation. I know we can't just walk away from Al Qaeda, and the Taliban aren't going to lay down their arms any time soon. I also know that we can't fix Afghanistan and Pakistan overnight, so that the Taliban and Al Qaeda will in a short while have no haven of refuge or base for training. The President will declare a clear plan based on lofty ideals, high hopes, and unrealistic objectives. He will have given us his best thinking and strategizing, but it's not likely that we will be able to achieve the relatively quick exit he will propose - not, that is, without leaving the problem intact.

Nevertheless, we need to pray for the President and do what we can to support his effort to win this war. Anyone can criticize, and there is a place for pointing out errors in thinking and bemoaning tactical blunders. But this is not Mr. Obama's war. This is America's war, and it is a just war and will be for as long as it takes to win it. They take the low road who try to make political hay out of whatever the President decides to do in seeking to win this war. If the early reports are correct, President Obama is making the biggest decision of his presidency, and it's not a decision his friends or opponents should try to use to the advantage of political party or agenda.

America's war in the hands of America's president needs the prayerful support of the American people. The government is seeking to wield the sword against a most heinous form of evil - evil that strikes without notice against innocent people, then conceals itself amid other innocents to avoid retaliation. No matter how long it takes to suppress, control, and discourage such evil, good nations must commit themselves to the task.

T. M. Moore