"I do not believe Afghanistan poses any real threat to the security of the USA..."

Also, it is repeatedly said that a the U.S. cannot respond militarily unless directy attacked.

Neither is true.

We are obligated to fight an attack or invasion of any country in OAS (over 30) or NATO (nearly 30).

We also have a moral obligation to stop atrocities (see Somalia and Rhwanda) or aggression (see Kuwait).

We follow democratic process before engaging in military action (see United Nations and Congressional resoutions). Easy to find on WWW. They are written in plain English, too.