Friend of a friend (I know, I know) worked with 0bama before his Senate days. Said he would hide in his office. He was timid, like a mouse.
Presuming there is no smoking permitted in the WH situation room, my guess is he bugged out for a couple of Newports during the 5PM meeting while one of the harpies* directed forces NOT to respond.
General Ham getting sacked shortly thereafter is no coincidence. Maybe he had other issues, certainly a flurry of edits to his Wiki profile in the weeks after 9/11/12
His 4 vs. 3 star retirement could be used for some leverage, maybe they are playing on his PTSD history - of course the Arkansas/Chicago way goes much further in matters of persuasion.
Too many people know what really happened at this point for it to stay under wraps forever - WH damage control must be working 24x7 to close potential leaks for the next 10 days. Some inside the MSM have to be having their eyes opened at just how far they are going to carry his water.
This entire mess crystallizes this administration. Captures everything they are and everything they do. This will be their legacy.
Sunday Evening, Nov 4th would be about as late in the game 0bama can do anything dramatic. The amount of military action he would take is proportional to how far he trails in the polls.