The heart of what Obama has to say is what we are about to do:

We must deny al Qaeda a safe-haven. We must reverse the Taliban’s momentum and deny it the ability to overthrow the government. And we must strengthen the capacity of Afghanistan’s Security Forces and government, so that they can take lead responsibility for Afghanistan’s future.

We will meet these objectives in three ways.  First, we will pursue a military strategy that will break the Taliban’s momentum and increase Afghanistan’s capacity over the next 18 months.

The 30,000 additional troops that I am announcing tonight will deploy in the first part of 2010 – the fastest pace possible – so that they can target the insurgency and secure key population centers. They will increase our ability to train competent Afghan Security Forces, and to partner with them so that more Afghans can get into the fight. And they will help create the conditions for the United States to transfer responsibility to the Afghans.

Despite much of the unnecessary and self-indulgent rhetoric, this is a critical statement of determination. And the “exit ramp”? Well, it is perhaps not as bad as advertised. “The days of providing a blank check are over, ” he says. And yes, he talks about “hastening the day when our troops will leave.” But he is not talking about a date certain for departure. We can be grateful for that.