16 years after the US invasion of Afghanistan, the war rages on in the deserts and cities of that distant country. 16 years and approximately $2 trillion (according to a report by CNN), and we still find ourselves asking “Why are we there? And how do we get out? Can we?” At last week’s Table Talk, a small group of us delved into some of these dilemmas.

First, the name: the “War on Terror.” Catchy, yes. It’s hard to argue with the fact that terror is bad and that we ought to combat it. But who are we fighting and what are we trying to accomplish? Do we meet Terror on the open battlefield? Once we’ve beat Terror, will we make it sign a treaty and try it in international court like the Nazis after World War II?

Before coming to Cornell, I spent a year at a German high school, where my government class spent an extensive amount of time discussing the war in Afghanistan, which Germany continues to be involved in (there are currently 950 German troops in Afghanistan,and 56 Germans have died there). One of the big takeaways I got from the discussions in that class was that the NATO coalition had gone into Afghanistan without a concrete plan, rushing in with the vague goal of “combating terror.” But not enough thought was given to what would happen after we overthrew the Taliban.

America has policed the world since the beginning, going as far back as President Monroe’s declaration of American influence over the Western hemisphere. But this policy has gotten us into many sticky situations before (e.g. Vietnam, Korea, Syria as it that situation continues to develop…), and it’s landed us in a position in Afghanistan in which we are stuck helping the current government barely hold off the Taliban by providing funds, training, and assistance (see NATO’s “Resolute Support” mission). We continue to pour in resources (and lives) with relatively little improvement, but the alternative—risking a Taliban takeover—is unacceptable to us, in terms of human rights and political concerns.

This tension between domestic and international interests, in the sense that international commitments eat up resources and energy that might be otherwise dedicated to domestic concerns, has always been an important American question. Of late, though, it’s been especially at the forefront of national discussion. As we (as a nation) continue to answer questions about Afghanistan, we may be changing our role and emphasis in international politics.