Full Description
This volume of essays-written by military officers who analyzed the intelligence, planned the missions, and flew the planes over Iraq, Kosovo, and Afghanistan-offers the most penetrating look to date at the realities of American precision air power.
When the gun-camera footage from air strikes during the Gulf War reached America's television screens, people awoke to the astonishing accuracy and power of smart weapons. Yet ten years' experience has taught what these remarkable weapons can and cannot do, and now, as American policy makers look to them to win the global war on terrorism, it is essential to understand the promise and the limits of immaculate warfare. This volume of essays-written by military officers who analyzed the intelligence, planned the missions, and flew the planes over Iraq, Kosovo, and Afghanistan-offers the most penetrating look to date at the realities of American precision air power.
Topics include:
• The political context of using force from the air
• The theoretical considerations involved in the use of air power to coerce an enemy
• An insider's view from General Clark's headquarters as he commanded the Kosovo war effort
• The tensions between civilian and military leaderships during the Kosovo war
• Precision weapons and the paradoxes their use involves
• The debate surrounding when precision weapons ought to be employed
Table of Contents
Foreword vii
William J. Crowe
Introduction: The Promise of Immaculate Warfare 1 (4)
Stephen D. Wrage
Air Power and the Coercive Use of Force 5 (16)
Scott A. Cooper
Air Power Strategy and the Problem of 21 (30)
Coercion
Spencer Abbot
Coalition Warfare: The Commander's Role 51 (20)
Derek S. Reveron
The Politics of Air Strikes 71 (14)
Scott A. Cooper
The Ethics of Precision Air Power 85 (16)
Stephen D. Wrage
Conclusion 101(12)
Stephen D. Wrage
Further Reading 113(2)
Index 115(4)
About the Contributors 119
