Best Defense
Thomas E. Ricks' daily take on national security.

Does the Army win our wars?: My colloquy with Brig. Gen. Frost

So yesterday I saw this come across on the Twitter.

By , a former contributing editor to Foreign Policy.
4642647668_f9d2ec5b51_b
4642647668_f9d2ec5b51_b

So yesterday I saw this come across on the Twitter:

So yesterday I saw this come across on the Twitter:

Brig. Gen. Frost is the head of Army public affairs. Gen. Milley is the new chief of the Army. I tweeted back to Frost:

And there, it apparently ended. He kind of left it hanging, but even so, I applaud his willingness to engage.

Photo credit: Sgt. Michael J. MacLeod/U.S. Army/Flickr

Thomas E. Ricks is a former contributing editor to Foreign Policy. Twitter: @tomricks1

Read More On Military | Social Media

Latest

What Geert Wilders Wants in Europe

Chinese Hospitals Are Housing Another Deadly Outbreak

Will the World’s Biggest Emitters Finally Play Nice at COP28?

Part 3: Make the North Great Again

Hamas’s Political Leaders Aren’t in Charge
See All Stories

Editors’ Picks

  1. 1
    The Masterminds
  2. 2
    Populist Rage Gives Dutch Far Right a Worrying Shot at Power
  3. 3
    The Mytilenean Dialogue From 428 B.C. Explains Who Really Won the Trump-Clinton Debate
  4. 4
    The West’s False Choice in Ukraine
  5. 5
    Hamas’s Political Leaders Aren’t in Charge
  6. 6
    America Is a Heartbeat Away From a War It Could Lose

More from Foreign Policy

The USS Nimitz and Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force and South Korean Navy warships sail in formation during a joint naval exercise off the South Korean coast.
The USS Nimitz and Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force and South Korean Navy warships sail in formation during a joint naval exercise off the South Korean coast.

America Is a Heartbeat Away From a War It Could Lose

Global war is neither a theoretical contingency nor the fever dream of hawks and militarists.

A protester waves a Palestinian flag in front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, during a demonstration calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. People sit and walk on the grass lawn in front of the protester and barricades.
A protester waves a Palestinian flag in front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, during a demonstration calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. People sit and walk on the grass lawn in front of the protester and barricades.

The West’s Incoherent Critique of Israel’s Gaza Strategy

The reality of fighting Hamas in Gaza makes this war terrible one way or another.

Biden dressed in a dark blue suit walks with his head down past a row of alternating U.S. and Israeli flags.
Biden dressed in a dark blue suit walks with his head down past a row of alternating U.S. and Israeli flags.

Biden Owns the Israel-Palestine Conflict Now

In tying Washington to Israel’s war in Gaza, the U.S. president now shares responsibility for the broader conflict’s fate.

U.S. President Joe Biden is seen in profile as he greets Chinese President Xi Jinping with a handshake. Xi, a 70-year-old man in a dark blue suit, smiles as he takes the hand of Biden, an 80-year-old man who also wears a dark blue suit.
U.S. President Joe Biden is seen in profile as he greets Chinese President Xi Jinping with a handshake. Xi, a 70-year-old man in a dark blue suit, smiles as he takes the hand of Biden, an 80-year-old man who also wears a dark blue suit.

Taiwan’s Room to Maneuver Shrinks as Biden and Xi Meet

As the latest crisis in the straits wraps up, Taipei is on the back foot.

Trending

  1. Chinese Hospitals Are Housing Another Deadly Outbreak
    Argument
    Annie Sparrow

  2. America Is a Heartbeat Away From a War It Could Lose
    Shadow Government
    A. Wess Mitchell

  3. The West’s False Choice in Ukraine
    Argument
    Nona Mikhelidze, Nathalie Tocci