A REVOLT BREWING? - AT 8:28 A.M. ET: There have been a number of revolts by military officers in American history - but never, never a coup. 

Officers have sometimes revolted against their own service, as Billy Mitchell did in the 1920s, resulting in his court-martial.  But more often the revolt is against decisions made at the civilian level.  There was the "revolt of the admirals" in the late 1940s, directed at Pentagon officials who wanted to emasculate the Navy and, especially, its carrier forces.  And, of course, there was the famous, or infamous, revolt by Douglas MacArthur during the Korean War, in which he became insubordinate, and was shown the barracks door by President Harry S. Truman.  The public initially cheered Mac, but eventually sided with Harry.

Now there's this - the strategic leak of a memo, described in this morning's Washington Post by reporter-deity Bob Woodward:

The top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan warns in an urgent, confidential assessment of the war that he needs more forces within the next year and bluntly states that without them, the eight-year conflict "will likely result in failure," according to a copy of the 66-page document obtained by The Washington Post.

"Obtained"?  That's a mild word for a major leak.  This comes one day after Chief Strategic Thinker Barack Obama announced that he had doubts that more troops would do the job in Afghanistan.  This is the military reply, reported by Washington's most famous investigative journalist.  Oh, this is juicy.

Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal says emphatically: "Failure to gain the initiative and reverse insurgent momentum in the near-term (next 12 months) -- while Afghan security capacity matures -- risks an outcome where defeating the insurgency is no longer possible."

His assessment was sent to Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates on Aug. 30 and is now being reviewed by President Obama and his national security team.

McChrystal concludes the document's five-page Commander's Summary on a note of muted optimism: "While the situation is serious, success is still achievable."

COMMENT:  You may be absolutely sure that White House bigs are livid over this.  They may well start to turn the Pentagon upside down trying to find out who leaked the document.  I wouldn't be shocked if it were someone at or near the top, and that it's a challenge to Obama himself, to his indecisive leadership.

This story is developing.  Read all of Woodward's report. 

The president goes to the UN this week.  This report will be read there.  The eyes are on Obama, and what appears to be a budding confrontation with Gen. McChrystal.

September 21, 2009