Sentence:  Obama's choice, according to McChrystal, a former special forces commander, boils down to this: Escalate or evacuate, get on or get out; there is no <WSD>middle way</WSD> that does not invite calamity on a grand scale. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  An intermediate course (of action, policy etc) between two extremes; a compromise.