As Obama dithers about policy, the Taliban is upping the pressure on the Afghan government.

A car bomb exploded outside of the Indian embassy killing 17 and wounding dozens. As the Australian Broadcast News (ABC) reports, the blast represents an ongoing escalation by the Taliban:

The Taliban statement, as is usual when it claims responsibility for suicide attacks, exaggerated the extent of the damage and the death toll.

The dead, it said, "included a few high ranking officials of the embassy, 35 soldiers of foreign and Afghan nationality.

"The explosion caused damage to the walls of the Indian embassy, which was the main target," the statement added.

It identified the suicide bomber as "Khalid" from the Paghman district of Kabul province.

In a statement, Afghan President Hamid Karzai called the perpetrators "barbaric."

"This is a terrorist attack, and an obvious attack on defenceless Afghan civilians," he said.

It was the fifth audacious attack on the Afghan capital in two months, as the Taliban brings its intensifying anti-government insurgency to the most heavily-fortified part of the country.

As Obama twiddles his thumbs, the Taliban only grow stronger and bolder. If General McChrystal is going to be able to turn around this decline, he is going to need an answer soon.

Question: How long does it take to get the views of your subordinates on what to do in Afghanistan, weigh the pros and cons, and then come to a decision? You've been at it for weeks, Mr. President. Time to decide and get the ball rolling.