Red Rat:
"What is at issue is not the level or extent of violence brought to bear here, more how that violence is brought to bear and what that says about us...At the micro level that involves bringing the fight to the enemy in a way that the enemy recognises and respects; bringing the fight to the enemy and beating him."

and:

"We are saying that we have a limited moral commitment, are prepared to take a limited risk with it. All the other side has to do is recognise that and match or better our limited commitment."
Yes...

JMA
"...I agree, but believe it is more due to the fact that the West does not know how to fight the sort of warfare needed to inflict a comprehensive defeat on the Taliban (for whatever reason)."
Possibly correct, However, I'm inclined to believe that the west knows how, it is simply unwilling to do what is necessary for various reasons -- most of which I believe to be misguided...
Not only is it necessary to close with and kill the enemy but also critical to pursue those who escape with single minded intent. The kill rate is critical...So yes half of the trick in this type of warfare is to close with and kill the enemy while the other half is to hunt down and kill the survivors. Soldiers who don't have the stomach for this type of work should rather join the police force...
Agree totally with the first statement.

On the second statement, I know there are some Soldiers (of all ranks) who do not wish for various reasons to do just that, not all stomach related. However, it has been my observation that most western soldiers are more than willing to do that -- they are simply not allowed to do so.

I couched that above as "risk aversion" -- which is present in excessive quantities. However, the reluctance seen today to engage in close combat in the harshest sense of the word is more complex than that alone. It is part tactical desire to restrain own casualties and part a "lack of stomach" on the part of some senior leaders and policy makers who wish to be seen as 'civilized.' A vastly overrated trait IMO...

The relative morality of 'turn the other cheek' and 'proportionality' may be generally acknowledged in the west. Others think them foolish constructs and see weakness and an invitation . I believe the numbers accrue to the latter group...

So while I think Patrick R. Jennings has a point:
"Thus I don't think western powers have shifted away from close combat rather they have never really embraced it. Soldiers in a democracy are expensive and the bill for close combat is too high so naturally we lean toward other means."
I also believe that the bill is seen as high -- no sense in placing a platoon at a roadblock when it can be covered by fire from several hundred meters away -- but perhaps more pointedly, western society today is, by some, seen as repelled by the nominal 'brutality' necessary to do as JMA suggests. I believe that (badly mistaken IMO) view is more responsible for restrictive ROE than is the bill for own casualties or the tactical advantage of avoidance of close combat.

This allows me to employ my favorite quote:

"War means fighting. The business of the soldier is to fight. Armies are not called out to dig trenches, to live in camps, but to find the enemy and strike him; to invade his country, and do him all possible damage in the shortest possible time. This will involve great destruction of life and property while it lasts; but such a war will of necessity be of brief continuance, and so would be an economy of life and property in the end."

Thomas J. Jackson quoted by G. F. R. Henderson

Failure to engage closely may provide a false sense of civilized behavior but it is just that -- false. War is not civilized and nothing is going to make it so. As old Curtis LeMay said, in war to do less than your very best is immoral. I'd paraphrase that by saying that in small wars to do less than your best for any reason is immoral -- and provides tacit encourgement to the opponent to keep slogging. Practically speaking, avoiding close combat lengthens any war, causes more casualties of all types and more damage in the end than would short sharp engagements. Creating a perception, however false, that one is avoiding or just lackadaisical in seeking out and destroying enemy fighters is an invitation to lengthy nickel and dime casualty accrual. Nickels can really add up over time, better to spend a few dollars and get it over with...

It is also wise to recall that just as a drop of water into a bucket of it can cause ripples, so can and will tactical actions affect strategic issues...