We will try to follow the twin precepts of proper counterinsurgency - protecting the population while also building up indigenous forces' capacity to do so themselves. We also will focus on minimizing casualties in our own use of force, increasing the strength and legitimacy of the Afghan government in general and helping Afghan citizens establish a more stable and prosperous way of life. Gen. McChrystal's predecessor, Gen. David D. McKiernan, as well as Gen. David H. Petraeus, Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates, Ambassador Richard C. Holbrooke, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and, most of all, President Obama, deserve credit for truly committing the United States to this mission for the first time.

Nevertheless, many other questions and...