Victory in Iraq is in sight, but much will need to be done by the next administration, Republican presidential candidate John McCain told fellow military veterans Monday.

I read an article this morning about members of the Taliban armed with guns and strapped with explosives attacking a U.S. military base in eastern Afghanistan, while fighting near Kabul. Several French soldiers were left dead and of course the suicide bombers got their wish....

Suicide Bomber? In all the major world conflicts there has been a known opponent. You didn't have to guess who the bad guys were. In World War I, the German U-boat ring sought to sink all supply ships headed for Britain in order to starve the island. It sank the Lusitania as part of its efforts. 1195 people died, including 128 Americans. This was pivotal in the U.S. joining forces with their allies in the war.

Fast forward to World War II, there was a mad man on the loose in Germany. Japan saw it's opportunity and joined in the mayhem. Early one Sunday morning they decided to take the ultimate step of displaying their pseudo-superiority and bombed Pearl Harbor. Again, America was thrust into another conflict.

Countries knew who the enemies were and the allies waged a concerted effort to restore peace to many nations....but this time it's different.

After 9/11...well actually after Osama Bin Laden and the Taliban claimed responsibility for over 3000 deaths in just a few hours, America again set out to bring him and his stooges to justice. It was then we began really hearing the term "War on Terror" - not any specific individual, nation, or territory...just a fight to defeat terror/terrorism.

Terror is defined as an overwhelming feeling of fear and anxiety - and every American (I'm sure) experienced some degree of just that after 9/11.

Still the question that weighs heavily on my mind is this....how can you battle an ideaology? One that's so viscerally endoctrinated in these people that they're willing to blow themselves to pieces just to take out a few other people. The ironic thing is their victims are usually innocent of any thing other than being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

We are so inherently different from these "terrorist". Do you know anyone right off
hand in your circle of friends that would strap 30-40lbs of explosives to their chest, walk in a building; get on a bus or stand in the middle of a busy shopping center and detonate without any questions.

I'm sure you don't and if you do, you might want to find a different set of friends!
I guess what I'm trying to say is I think we're in a real precarious predicament. I can't actually visualize that this will ever end.

We've certainly killed many of the ring leaders of the Taliban and Al-Queda. Yet suicide bombers, new leaders, and eager youth courageously ready to pick up and do their part in these countries were terrorist have a strong-hold are popping up everyday.

We're so disadvantaged. We're not fighting an army or a militia. We're fighting civilians (insurgents). Our military doesn't know who's the good guy and who's the bad guy. We're just there in an attempt to maintain as much order as possible while these make-shift governments try to establish or regain order...Just pure chaos if you ask me.

So, when Senator McCain says we're winning...I'm just curious as to what score board he's looking at. Because it's not showing up on my JumboTron.