"Wherever they [i.e. the Americans] are, we are also," he said. "And wherever they can hit us we can hit them, and harder."
From what I can tell, the important thing in contemporary military confrontation for these guys is the face they show their enemy. Not what is actually achieved on the battlefield. That's why Saddam was able to claim victory in the first Gulf War even though he got his butt kicked on the battlefield. He never gave in to US demands, that's what was most important.
As the old saying goes "That was then, this is now."