[xoxoxoBruce]

I'm sure the grunts were tired of chasing ghosts with no discernible progress, with no strategy, plan or goal.

Yon is a blogger, beholding to nobody except the people that read his blog and contribute to his expenses.
He understands the military and the internal politics that make it tick... as well as the necessity of the media for winning hearts and minds. Not only here but more importantly in the middle East.
With his background and contacts, he is is a perfect position to be a shill for the pentagon and/or the administration.

That said, I trust his judgment and his reporting.

Having followed his reports for a couple years, I'm absolutely convinced he is reporting the true situation as honestly as he can. From the git go, he has pointed out the successes and failures of our policies and actions, in Afghanistan and Iraq.
He was quick to say we were leaving Afghanistan half finished, and Iraq had devolved to civil war. He did so without walking away in disgust, but looked for signs the leadership was getting a clue while continuing to report on the difficult job the US and Brit units were doing. He also reports on the various tribes, their peculiarities, and there relations with other tribes and our troops.
I've yet to see a tiny speck of him having any agenda beyond telling the truth.