Barack Obama today shrugged off Republican accusations of dithering over Afghanistan, signalling he was not planning to rush into a decision about whether to send an extra 40,000 US troops.
This stance comes despite the Afghanistan election commission's confirmation that President Hamid Karzai is to be given a second term.
The US president had delayed a decision on troop increases until after the expected Afghanistan election run-off on 7 November, but the withdrawal of the opposition candidate Abdullah Abdullah at the weekend put paid to that.
Asked for a comment today Obama indicated the decision might still be weeks away. "I'm sure I will have some comments in the weeks to come."
Mitt Romney, almost certainly one of the runners for the Republican nomination for the next White House race, joined the former vice-president, Dick Cheney, in accusing Obama of dithering.
"This Hamlet performance that we're seeing out of the White House is very disconcerting," Romney told CBS. "The president has known about this issue for a long time. He received the report from General [Stanley] McChrystal four months ago and has not been able to make a decision. This is very unfortunate for the people there and for our troops."
The White House, which has had the report since early September rather than the four months Romney suggested, says the important thing is to make the right decision, rather than a rushed one.
There had been media speculation in Washington that Obama would make the announcement after the 7 November election, but before leaving on a 10-day trip to Asia on 10 November. Officials are now hinting the decision could be delayed until after he returns.