Outfoxed in the Information War

Four weeks into the Afghanistan military operation, the battle for the information high ground has intensified as the Pentagon struggles to counter Taliban claims about civilian casualties and apparent U.S. military errors.

In Europe, public support starts to waver as the massive technological superiority of U.S. forces seems deftly undermined by the crude power of video images. British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw complains about the voracious impatience of a 24-hour media cycle out of sync with military reality. "The press," he says, "have almost no humility and no memory."

The solution will be coalition...