Thomas E. Ricks, the author of Fiasco and The Gamble: General David Petraeus and the American Military Adventure in Iraq, 2006-2008, is a fellow at the Center for a New American Security and author of Foreign Policy magazine’s Best Defense blog. He was a reporter at the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post for a total of 26 years. His new book is The Generals: American Military Command from World War II to Today.