My reasoning is very simple - our way of waging war since WWII has been to trade treasure over blood. By that, I mean we spend a lot of money on technology in order to reduce our losses. The concept works, as seem most dramatically when you contrast US losses (~200) to Iraqi losses (~100,000 to 200,000) in the Gulf War. I'd hate to be the one who had to write a letter to some grieving parents that read "Your son was sacrificed in order to uphold Afghan honor."

Seeing as how I have a son in the Navy who, among other duties, is trained as a field medic to serve with the Marines, well, I admit to being somewhat biased. Should my son have to go into battle, I don't want his life wasted by stupidly fighting on the enemy's terms.