"........ 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.
That swing vote would put them at odds with the bare-bones approach still being pushed by Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., as well as the most aggressive military buildup recommended by the American commander in Afghanistan, Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal....
In fact, given that the president puts particular stock in Mr. Gates's view on military matters, the alliance between Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Gates, two moderate pragmatists, may be the deciding factor in a remarkably public debate that will determine the future course of the war........... the defense secretary later said to aides that he regarded Mrs. Clinton as very tough. But their relationship had already warmed up by the time of the Obama administration's first debate over sending troops to Afghanistan.
At a White House meeting in mid-March, in which the counterinsurgency policy was initially presented, Mr. Biden famously began to stake out his position that a larger military presence in Afghanistan could breed resentment among Afghans and would be politically untenable at home. Mrs. Clinton, who weighed in next, disagreed, according to people who took part in the session. She threw her support behind the counterinsurgency policy and more troops, saying she believed the American people could be won over. Mr. Gates, immediately following her, also endorsed it, though he granted Mr. Biden's point that there were risks of a backlash among the Afghan people.........
Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Gates are also in tune on Iran, sometimes to an uncanny degree. On Sept. 27, they appeared on rival Sunday morning talk shows, both warning Tehran that if it did not negotiate over its nuclear program, it would face harsh sanctions. In their hard line toward Iran, Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Gates differed from senior National Security Council officials, who were initially more optimistic about the prospects for engagement, according to a senior official...."
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