Can't Win for Losing

If there's anything in the world I hate, it's leeches--filthy devils!

--Charlie Allnut, African Queen

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is taking some hits because he realistically said Thursday the U.S. cannot win this mess in Iraq (Reid: ''U.S. Can't Win War.'') Ranger believes that the U.S. can not even define winning or victory because there has been no honesty in defining the goals associated with this no-end, mindless violence.

The fight 'em there rhetoric must be seen for the bucket of bilge that it actually is. American military personnel are being expended to counter a declared threat that does not even exist. Not on the battleground on which it is fighting; not in the form it has identified.

The Jihad/terror groups never could be a target for the U.S. military. By definition, they are self-regenerating, stealthy, stateless and multinational entities who will only capitalize on this U.S. aggression, using it as an effective recruiting tool for their cause. Our actions are as effective as an Uncle Sam poster, but this time, for the opponents.

It would behoove policy-makers to separate the resistance fighters in Iraq from the Jihad/terror groups that specifically target U.S. interests.

With limited resources, we must be discriminate in choosing our battles. What are we after? A healthy and secure America is the only answer. We are bleeding those resources away in the desert, for naught in the realm of national gain. The only ones who stand to profit are a thin slice in the world of private contractual profiteers, a.k.a, leeches.

James Montgomery Flagg, the creator of the Uncle Sam poster, also designed ''Wake Up, America,'' below. I hope that Americans are able.