While much has been made of the four military options that are on the table — all turning on how many troops to send to Afghanistan and for how long — the president also made clear that he is not yet fully satisfied with these choices and will not approve an open-ended commitment. He has also asked, officials said, that some of the options be redrafted.

The White House has been eager to show that Mr. Obama is engaged in extensive deliberations before making what is likely to be one of the most debated decisions of his presidency. Drawing on studies of how decisions were made to escalate the war in Vietnam , Mr. Obama and his aides seem intent on showing the nation and the world that he is not being rushed by the military, nor making a judgment without considering the long-term implications.

In purely political terms, the relatively slow pace — administration officials had initially suggested that the review would be complete by early November — signals to both Democrats and Republicans on Capitol Hill that he has given serious consideration to all the options. Given that liberals in his own party are generally opposed to further escalation in Afghanistan and could make trouble for the president over more money for the war, which he will almost certainly need to request, reassuring the left about how rigorously he is examining the options can only help the White House.

As the weeks have passed without a decision, the administration is making its frustration known over several news reports that suggested a decision had been made.

“I don’t know that it’s annoying as much as it is generally amusing to watch somebody or some group of people decide they know what only the president knows,” said Robert Gibbs , the White House press secretary.

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Senator John McCain , Republican of Arizona , said last week that he was disappointed and angry the president has delayed his Afghanistan decision, but the White House has spent very little time reacting to the criticism. Administration officials said they believe Americans support the lengthy deliberations.

A poll released on Wednesday by CNN/Opinion Research Corporation found that 49 percent of Americans surveyed said the president was taking too long to decide whether to increase troop levels in Afghanistan, while 50 percent did not.

As the White House makes plans for how the president will explain his decision to the nation — a leading option is to deliver his first prime-time address from the Oval Office — Mr. Obama has been spending considerable time with troops and families, filling out another part of his role as commander in chief.

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He visited the Naval Air Station in Jacksonville , Fla., on Oct. 26. He arrived at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware in the small hours of Oct. 29. And he delivered a Veterans Day speech at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia . (A trip to Fort Hood , Tex., aides said, was the only hastily scheduled event, following the unforeseen shooting that killed 13 there last week.)

A few hours before the war council met on Wednesday, Mr. Obama walked through the rain-soaked grass at Arlington National Cemetery and visited Section 60, where 577 troops from Iraq and Afghanistan are buried. He moved slowly among the granite headstones etched with names of today’s wars, Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom.

Mr. Obama stopped by the grave of Spec. Ross McGinnis, a Medal of Honor recipient who was killed nearly three years ago when a grenade was thrown into his vehicle in Iraq. The president met with relatives of other troops who were on hand when he passed by.

Before Mr. Obama reaches Asia — where his focus will be on a variety of other issues, from trade to North Korea — he has one more military stop on his schedule: He is set to meet with troops at Elmendorf Air Force Base in Alaska on Thursday as he makes his way to Tokyo .

The decision on Afghanistan won’t come, aides said, until well after the president returns to American soil.