Hollowfox,

I think the significance of recent developments is that it will be somewhat less of a miserable mess in Afghanistan in the future than it has been recently. As for U.S. policy and actions, they may not have been the best, but we have been trying to make the best of a shitty situation. The alternatives could easily have been far more civilian casualties as well as actual U.S. combat casualties. I would give us a solid B at this point.