What is our strategic interest in Afghanistan? In fall 2001 it was clearly important to deny a base to Al-Qaeda and to strike back at the perpetrators of 9/11. But the need to stop a hostile force from taking root there exhausts our strategic interest in the country.

It is not like Iraq, which does have high strategic value to the U.S. Absent its ability to host hostile forces who can project power to the U.S. mainland, Afghanistan would be of no interest. Given the apparent inability to supply our troops there, perhaps our narrow strategic need could better be served by local proxies instead of by U.S. troops.