The U.S. must do damage control in Afghanistan. The recent WikiLeaks disclosures are undoing months of efforts by U.S. diplomats to repair relations with the Karzai government.

Replacing General Stanley McChrystal and others involved with setting American policy on Afghanistan will allow the United States to begin down the road to victory.

General Stan McChrystal's quotes create an opportunity for President Barack Obama to take command and show his commitment to winning the war in Afghanistan by replacing McChrystal and other officials.

Afghans see the deadlines for withdrawal of US troops as unrealistic and worry that setting time limits emboldens the Taliban as well as enemies in Iran and Pakistan.

President Obama made fundamentally the right decision on Afghanistan--to resource a fully fledged counterinsurgency--and the job ahead is to ensure that his arbitrary date to "end" the war does not become the real endgame.

The situation with General McChrystal has shifted the spotlight to President Obama's highly conditional commitment to Afghanistan, forcing Obama to answer whether he can adapt to win the war.

General McChrystals remarks should force President Obama to abandon his policy of splitting the difference on Afghanistan, as he must definitely act to set a course that will produce success and claim victory.

The choices for America in Afghanistan are simpler than they appear in the fog of political debate: We can win or we can lose.