WILLY STERN: How David Petraeus Mastered The Media. “Every first-rate commander knows how to cultivate the media, and use the press to his (or her) advantage. Sadly, such commanders are hard to find today. . . . As such, we are losing the media war. Al Queda is very sophisticated at telling its story. The American military is not. . . . Even if the Obama crowd doesn’t admit it, we’re at war with radical Islam. The media is an important battlefield in that war. The enemy is engaging. Many of our best commanders are not. Result: We lose.”