McChrystal: Things getting worse in Afghanistan

Amid concerns that he might resign over a rift between the military leadership in Afghanistan and the civilian leadership in the Obama White House, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, America's top commander in Afghanistan, sat down for an interview with David Martin of 60 Minutes, airing Sunday.

The moment making headlines in advance clips comes when Martin pointedly asks, "Are things worse, or better?"

McChrystal replies, "They're probably a little worse ... in some areas ... the breadth of the violence, the geographic spread of violence, is a little more than I would have gathered."

The sound bite comes amid intense scrutiny of the Obama administration's plan, and McChrystal's alleged strategy of opposition. On Tuesday military leaders challenged the president's shifting strategy, calling on a cautious Obama to accept McChrystal's anticipated formal request for more troops. Sen. John McCain was among the most forceful: "I've never seen a disconnect like this between the military leadership and the White House on an issue." Obama's allies are mostly offering measured support, AP reports.

The interview also adds a chapter to a drama that played out earlier in the week. On August 30th, McChrystal delivered a 66-page report to Defense Secretary Robert Gates outlining the need for an expanded troop presence. The report, which was leaked to Bob Woodward of the Washington Post, happened to coincide with President Obama's public expressions of skepticism, leading some to speculate it was leaked intentionally by McChrystal's camp in a move to win the war of public opinion. The scandal may have aided in part, wrote NPR: “The leak of McChrystal's report has crystallized the debate, and, in some ways, awakened a country generally not engaged in or affected by the eight-year conflict.”

On Friday McChrystal reportedly appealed to a different audience, in an unannounced meeting with senior American military leaders.

As for the public opinion, it's decidedly split in a USAToday/Gallup poll released Friday. In a "stark turnaround," half of all Americans, and six in 10 Democrats, oppose a surge. The results, USAToday writes, "[underscore] the pressures on President Obama as he re-evaluates his approach to what he calls "a war of necessity." McChrystal's interview is more fuel for that fire.

-- Brett Michael Dykes is a contributor to the Yahoo! News Blog.