Austin Bay, Expert.

Via Putz, Austin Bay -- last seen in these parts unable to define 'victory' -- is still jabbering on about "retreat-wing Democrats in Congress" and the "defeatist impulse that insistently infects the left of Obama's party."

The president's speech continued that triangulation, adding benchmarks for Afghan security forces and cautioning that America's commitment is not open-ended. Essentially, Obama gave the Afghanis (and the Taliban) a time line, "by the end of 2011," the president said, or (implied) America leaves.

Eh. Putz is very fond of this guy. Let's review his back pages:

AUSTIN BAY has some important observations on why beating Iraq will likely be a deathblow to an already weakened Al Qaeda. (Jan. 29, 2003)

WHY AUSTIN BAY IS REALLY SMART: His prescience on the “flypaper” strategy is explored over at GlennReynolds.com. (Jul.14, 2003)

AUSTIN BAY WRITES THAT WE’RE WINNING (Aug. 27, 2003)

AUSTIN BAY WRITES about the “cascade effects” stemming from Saddam’s capture. (Dec. 19, 2003)

Awesome.