After making negative comments about the military's civilian leadership (including President Obama) to Rolling Stone magazine, top Afghanistan general Stanley McChrystal is heading to Washington,apparently to apologize. It is worth noting that two years ago, during the Bush administration, Admiral William Fallon was in a similar situation and was pushed to resign, as Armed Forces Journal reported:

While the administration and Fallon may not have differed in the objectives of the policy towards Iraq and Iran, they differed in their approach. The Esquire article highlighted comments the admiral made to the Arab television station Al-Jazeera. “This constant drumbeat of conflict ... is not helpful and not useful,” Fallon was quoted as saying. “I expect there will be no war, and that is what we ought to be working for.”

Fallon was also criticized for telling Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak that the U.S. would not attack Iran. This became a banner headline in the Egyptian Gazette and landed him in trouble with the White House. Additionally, White House officials were concerned about the reported friction between Fallon and Army Gen. David Petraeus, then U.S. commander in Iraq.

The Esquire story was the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back. On March 11, 2008, only one week after the Esquire article was discussed in The Washington Post, Fallon announced his resignation, calling reports of such disagreements an untenable “distraction.”

From the Washington Post's report of Fallon's retirement:

Fallon, 63, had made several comments reflecting disagreement with the administration's stance on Iran, most recently in an Esquire magazine article last week that portrayed him as the only person who might stop Bush from going to war with the Islamic republic.

“Recent press reports suggesting a disconnect between my views and the president's policy objectives have become a distraction at a critical time,” Fallon said in a statement. Though he denied that any discrepancies exist, he said “it would be best to step aside and allow” Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates “and our military leaders to move beyond this distraction.”