John:

My problem goes beyond these two.

Ambassador Eikenberry has been consistently asking State for a major increase in civilian presence, commitment, and has received little in response.

So you have two leaders, one military and one civilian, each pushing for more resources from their stovepipe.

Both are getting the same response (no answer), but at the higher level, the individual stovepipe requests of are inter-dependent. Military surge against a civilian problem is not going to work, and vice versa.

The final answer (after all the lifelines and "phone-a-friend") must coordinate both efforts, or we are just punting the day of decision.

The substance of each's positions is what matters most, and they must "unite."