If you're someone who favors the war in Afghanistan, is there any number of civilian deaths that would persuade you that it's a moral imperative to bring American troops home? If so, what is that number? My intuition is that this would factor into the moral calculus of the average American. At the same time, I must admit that civilian casualty figures from Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan aren't often invoked as a reason to change our policies toward those countries.

It seems fair to presume that every war will result in inadvertent civilian casualties. So unless you're a pacifist who rejects all wars, I'm curious: When politicians are arguing that we should launch a war, or continue to wage one, what weight do you assign to the innocent lives that will end?

With regard to Afghanistan, it's a hard hypothetical to tackle. Like Jon Huntsman, I'm sure that the future of American foreign policy isn't in Afghanistan. Like Newt Gingrich, I think that among Iran, Pakistan, and Afghanistan, the last country is least important to American interests. Like Gary Johnson, I see no reason to believe that staying in Afghanistan for one or five or 10 more years will improve the outcome for us or the Afghan people when we leave. Like Ron Paul, I think we can't afford all that we're spending on foreign occupations, given our huge deficit and struggling economy. So I'd want to end the war in Afghanistan even if innocent women and children weren't being inadvertently but regularly killed. Among people who think the war in Afghanistan is generally a good idea, how do you factor in the dead civilians? Do you pay attention to them? How do you think America ought to factor them into our war-making?

Image credit: Reuters

