There is a difference between defending ourselves and being aggressive and there is a fine line in that manner.
I agree with the Afghan invasion, did not agree with Iraq on two grounds
1) Afghanistan was not complete
2) Iraq had not done what Al Quaeda did with aid from the Taliban.
I'm not a pacifist, nor do I cringe instinctively when I hear Military involvement. Both my parents are Vietnam Veterans and I'm a member of the Sons of the American Legion.
When we do go to war, I support all the nations resources are put into the effort, every able bodied man is conscripted into some sort of service and no one leaves till the enemy is neutralized. Civilians are expected to buy government debt in the form of war bonds until the war is over and any debt after the war is paid back quickly. I expect if men and women are willing to sacrifice their lives, the civilian population to sacrifice at home.
We have not engaged in that type of war in 60 years.
I'm not speaking about limited engagements where active combat is short like Guam, Panama, or Iraq war I.
However, I severly question whether or not we are messing with our Constitution when we are involved in active armed conflict for 9 years without any formal declaration of war.
Frankly it is unfair to the executive in carrying out the war, a formal declaration gives the President powers he would not have in periods of no formal declaration. This yearly argument over defense spending authorization is bullshit if we are truly at war.
On the current issue of Afghanistan, I don't believe in a timeline. You have an objective, you either sacrifice to meet that objective or you leave.