Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty: Obama’s surge in Afghanistan may be insufficient

Public opinion, however, has been turning against continued heavy U.S. involvement in Afghanistan and appears to be turning faster now over the last month, following the removal by the president of Gen. Stanley McChrystal for insubordinate remarks in a magazine article, followed by the Wikileaks controversy.

Pawlenty remained resolute that the current mission is the right one and made clear that rather than considering any significant course correction, he might only be prepared to double down on prosecuting the current conflict.

“The policy in Afghanistan is to deny terrorists a base of operations, and it’s hard to do that unless you’re there,” Pawlenty said. “If we’re serious about what this means in terms of terrorism … we need to be serious about seeing it through to the point where we’re satisfied that our objectives have been met.”

“The public is obviously concerned about the war in Afghanistan but … the president and the leadership of our country needs to be a better job of explaining why it matters,” Pawlenty said.

Pawlenty said that as for his political future, he will decide whether to run for his party’s presidential nomination shortly after January 1, 2011. He said his decision would not be “dependent on what other people do and don’t do,” referring to questions about whether former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin will throw her hat in the ring.

Palin, he said, “could afford to wait I think a lot longer than most other candidates” to announce her decision, Pawlenty said, given her name recognition and ability to raise money at the grassroots level through small donations.

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WATCH: PAWLENTY ON AFGHANISTAN DEADLINE