It is nearly a full year since the Twin Towers fell and 19 motley Arabs massacred 2,800 innocent, non-combatant people. It is nearly a full year since "war" was declared on terrorists, including those countries harboring, aiding and abetting them. It is nearly a full year since first were uttered America's challenge to the world: "You are either with us or against us." And, in that near year, what have we done? Not what have we said, but what have we actually done. Frankly, not much.

Yes, we took down the Taliban with few casualties and in little time. But they were a rag-tag bunch, hardly a challenge, much less a match. The Taliban were no-tech nomads despotically surviving in a barren land. They did not so much as have one, single airplane. Afghanistan was hardly Guadalcanal or The Battle of Midway. Midway, the Pacific's decisive naval battle, took place June 4 to 7, 1942; Guadalcanal was captured on August 7, 1942. Note the dates: each less than a year after December 7, 1941. And the Japanese were a real fighting force with everything the Taliban lacked. The United States against the Taliban is like the Yankees playing in Little League. Surely if we could recover from Pearl Harbor and be on the offensive against the Japanese in less than a year, we could recover from 9-11 and be on the move against terrorists and those countries harboring, aiding or abetting them. But we are not.

What we have done and continue to do is a perfect caricature of modern America, indeed of the modern Western nation. Our political leaders have made hosts of speeches but the "axis of evil" despots continue to rule. Washington has created something called the Homeland Security Department, a useless exercise of moving and shifting bits and pieces on the government's bureaucratic chessboard. A prime result thereof has been making the friendly skies decidedly and ludicrously unfriendly. Another ex-emplar of inaction is that millions (!) of illegal aliens still live comfortably in the U.S. without fear their criminal conduct will cause them to be deported if discovered. Not one federal or state agency knows who or where they are. Not one even cares.

Congress dithers; officials posture. All of that is cover for inaction; for not knowing how objectives are to be achieved. Leadership is not just stating goals; it is the coupling of those goals to plans for their achievement.

Immediately after 9-11, the president spoke eloquently about the nation's objectives. Subsequently, he has foundered on the rocks and shoals of inaction, of failing to determine a plan of action. Mr. Bush has even stopped using the president's pulpit to preach his gospel to the people. I think it is because he knows what he doesn't know: it is apparent that he does not know how to achieve what he said we were going to do.

There is a host of options available to the President, each supported by intelligent people. But it has been nearly a full year since 9-11. None can know in advance which course will turn out to be best. You must choose Mr. President. It is what we elected you to do.