It's heartening to see some good news on the reconstruction in Afghanistan, and from the New York Times:

The once-torturous but now silkily reconstructed road between Kabul and the southern city of Kandahar was formally completed today, just as President Bush had promised President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan more than a year ago that it would be.

"We are standing — literally — on the road to Afghanistan's future," Mr. Khalilzad said, speaking to a group of dignitaries gathered for an inauguration ceremony at kilometer 43 of the seductively smooth strip of gray. "It is a future of national unity. It is a future of prosperity. It is a future of peace."

The resurfacing of the road, which has reduced the travel time on its 300-mile distance from as much as 30 hours to 6 hours or less, has become the most visible sign of Afghanistan's postwar reconstruction, which many Afghans say has otherwise been frustratingly slow. It has given the Afghans who live nearby easier access to health care and markets and linked the Pashtun-dominated south with the north.

There is plenty of criticism in the piece as well, but most of it sounds valid, and overall this seems like a balanced piece of reporting that actually highlights an accomplishment of reconstruction in Afghanistan.

I'm glad to see that the Bush Administration is keeping it's promises, and hasn't forgotten about Afghanistan. Personally, I think we could be doing even more, but it sounds like real, substantive progress is being made.