HERSCHEL SMITH thinks that reports of the Taliban’s impending defeat in Afghanistan are exaggerated, and offers this disturbing reminder: “These radically divergent reports are not atypical of NATO behavior in Afghanistan. We are accustomed to well-rehearsed strategy and clear, consistent communication from the Multinational Force in Iraq. NATO performs more like a multi-headed creature with different countries not only failing to ensure consistency in communication, but following very different strategies (most remarkably the British at all levels of the government).”