The eyes of Said Jawad, Afghanistan’s ambassador to the United States, looked weary as he spoke. He’s been traveling to smaller-town America, including a stop in Spokane last week, to explain Afghanistan’s situation.

The weariness in his eyes lifted briefly as he talked about Afghanistan in a more peaceful time. He told The Spokesman-Review editorial board that his country was once a favored vacation spot for Middle Easterners, as well as some Europeans, because of its beautiful mountains and hospitable people.

In 1979, the Soviet Union invaded. When they left, chaos took over and the Taliban rose to power. More than two decades of death, destruction and oppression have followed.

Despite the presence of the United States and NATO, the country remains fragile. Schools get built, not always efficiently, with help from the U.S. and other countries. And then the Taliban burn them down, especially the girls’ schools. Oppression of women under the Taliban was infamous.

Jawad’s message for smaller town America is this: Don’t forget about Afghanistan. The country needs more international help to rebuild and then rebuff the outsiders who threaten the country’s quest for peace.

As U.S. and NATO troops ran out the worst of the terrorists after 9/11, hope grew in Afghanistan that things might change. Then Iraq became the focus, and Afghanistan dropped away from news accounts and analysis.

But Pakistan is a worry spot now. Al-Qaida is reportedly training terrorists there, and Pakistan’s liquid borders allow for their easy passage into Afghanistan and Iran.

Clearly Pakistan, supposedly a U.S. ally, needs to do more to shut the terrorist bases near the Afghanistan border. Yet no sooner had an American military leader told Congress that U.S. troops are permitted to pursue fleeing Taliban troops into Pakistan than Pakistan authorities said they aren’t.

Violence put Afghanistan back in the news recently. When Vice President Dick Cheney visited a military base there last week, a suicide bomber detonated himself at the base’s entrance. Sunday, U.S. Marines, hit by a car bomb, retaliated and civilians were killed. Angry Afghans hit the streets, protesting the continued U.S. presence in Afghanistan.

Why should Inland Northwest residents care about a ravaged country so far away?

“We should care about Afghanistan because it’s a country in need and we are so intertwined with them. It’s imperative for us to understand that connection. We have troops fighting there,” said Kathleen Mackenzie, the World Affairs Council of Spokane president who invited Jawad to visit Spokane.

Jawad and others make a convincing argument that the stability of the Middle East depends on the stability of Afghanistan. The effort there, unlike in Iraq, is truly multinational. NATO is leading more than 30,000 troops from 37 countries in Afghanistan, and on Tuesday it launched “Operation Achilles” to go after Taliban extremists.

Most of all, citizens here will be asked to pay for the efforts in Afghanistan. And to send their young military men and women there. Inland Northwest residents must understand what they are paying for – and decide whether it is worth it.