Another perspective on Afghanistan

Letters in January reveal a wide range in Presbyterians' attitudes towards Canada's involvement in Afghanistan, ranging from pacifism to a belief that it is divinely ordained. Perhaps I could add some comments to the mix.
If God wants us to be there, why did He choose Afghanistan and not Darfur or any other of the numerous crime scenes around the world? As I recall, the decision to get involved militarily in Afghanistan several years ago was taken on the basis of presumed obligations to NATO and was driven by a number of political and economic considerations, one of which was to placate the United States after refusing to get involved in Iraq. The involvement in Afghanistan has effectively blocked Canada's ability to act on other problem sites where we might have been more effective.
Some correspondents reflect a common view that because Canadians are dying over there, opposition to the war is somehow a betrayal of their sacrifice. This argument has been repeated in war after war; in the First World War of 1914-18 it led to continuation of the ghastly slaughter long after it could probably have been stopped by negotiation.
To present the Afghan conflict as a struggle to the death between good and evil seems naïve. The Taliban may be as evil as some correspondents believe, but it seems clear that their defeat by a few thousand Canadian soldiers is extremely unlikely. At least they tried to stop the drug trade, which has reached new heights under the current regime in Kabul and causes untold misery around the world. If they can't be defeated, some kind of negotiation will have to occur eventually.