Think of the patrol that walks into an ambush. They know that they cannot stay where they are at, nor can they keep doing what they are doing. some of them will probably be killed no matter what they do, they will certainly be destroyed if they continue on their current course. While flanking left may not be the correct solution to resolve the problem, it will 1) buy them (a little) time and 2) give them information about how to resolve the problem ("oh, good their line end here" or "Nope, looks like they are on the right side" etc.). God help the patrol who in a similar situation the leader says "Let us take a moment to consider our direction carefully before we act," because many of them will soon meet him.
Except it's a very, very far stretch to compare a tactical situation to a decision about strategy.

Again, please tell me how many troops are going to die because the President is taking a few weeks to actually analyze and decide what the proper course ahead should be, as opposed to deciding according to when you think he should?