An opinion piece in The Indianapolis Star asks whether the war in Afghanistan is worth it. That is, the headline asks it, and the last paragraph asks it. But the piece doesn't answer it, or even attempt to really. The author wastes all his time telling you this, that, and the other thing about the conflict in Afghanistan, and doesn't get to the point until he's run out of space.

Americans should be answering this question first, before asking whether U.S. forces can win, and how they might go about doing it. First, ask: is this war in our national interest? What do we get if we win? What do we fail to get if we fight and lose, or if we pack up and go? What is this war about?

That al Qaida attacked us eight years ago, is not a sufficient answer. The Afghan state didn't attack us, and cannot attack us in any way that threatens our existence. It harbored some people who made a nasty raid on us. Our forces dispersed their camps long ago. Probably that put the Taliban people on notice not to tolerate any such camps in the future; if not, Afghanistan can be watched, and if more camps are built they can be flattened. We don't need to have an army in Afghanistan in order to protect the territory of the United States.

Beyond protection, what is our interest there? Democracy? Who cares? It is none of our business whether they are a democracy, or observe human rights. They never did before, and it didn't bother us.

Afghanistan is a poor, landlocked country halfway around the world. It is about as far from the United States as you can get and still be in a habitable part of the Earth. As an American taxpayer, what is my interest in funding a war and occupation there? I see no profit in it, nor any justification for killing people there.