Thomas E. Ricks covered the U.S. military from 1991 to 2008 for the Wall Street Journal and then the Washington Post. He can be reached at ricksblogcomment@gmail.com.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks alongside Secretary of Defense James Mattis at a cabinet meeting in the White House on Dec. 6, 2017. (SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images)
U.S. Army Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, commander of NATO’s International Security Assistance Force and U.S. Forces-Afghanistan arrives at Combat Outpost Sharp in the Garmsir District. (U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Mark O’Donald/Released via Wikimedia Commons)