A B-52 releases a test version of the Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP) over White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico, in 2009. (Photo by Department of Defense)
William J. Astore, The Nation: The Dirty Truth About American Airpower
A retired Air Force officer shares 10 cautionary tenets about our overreliance on bombing campaigns.
From Syria to Yemen in the Middle East, Libya to Somalia in Africa, Afghanistan to Pakistan in South Asia, an American aerial curtain has descended across a huge swath of the planet. Its stated purpose: combating terrorism. Its primary method: constant surveillance and bombing—and yet more bombing. Its political benefit: minimizing the number of US boots on the ground and thus American casualties in the never-ending war on terrorism, as well as any public outcry about Washington’s many conflicts. Its economic benefit: plenty of high-profit business for weapon-makers for whom the president can now declare a national security emergency whenever he likes and so sell their warplanes and munitions to preferred dictatorships in the Middle East (no congressional approval required). Its reality for various foreign peoples: a steady diet of Made in USA bombs and missiles bursting here, there, and everywhere.
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WNU Editor: Boots on the ground will always guarantee higher casualties than a ground campaign. Because of this reason, the U.S will always be reliant on air power to wage war.
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