Now, as President Obama leads yet another debate on whether to deploy tens of thousands of additional troops there, the secretary of state and the secretary of defense will once again constitute a critical voting bloc, the likely leaders of an argument for a middle ground between a huge influx of soldiers and a narrow focus aimed at killing terrorists from Al Qaeda, according to several administration officials.

Gates, that crucial swing vote. Don’t know if he’s actually swung; the Times appears to have built this story in spite of having just that bit of somewhat-speculative news. But presuming the piece has it right, it’s noteworthy that Gates, the defense secretary behind the surge, would shave down the McChrystal request. If Gates can’t get behind it, the case can’t be airtight.