Air Campaign in Libya
By Even the Liberal New Republic sees fit to quote me on the utility of airpower:
According to these experts, the relatively low skills of loyalists forces and the geography of the war zone should make (and, based on the available evidence, have made) air power particularly useful against Qaddafi. Of course, neither civilian populations nor rebel forces are entirely safe right now. But they are clearly a lot safer. Explains Robert Farley, a national security expert at the University of Kentucky’s Patterson School of Diplomacy and International Commerce…
On a related note, it’s remarkable that thus far we’ve heard very little in terms of the rhetoric of airpower. In particular, no one seems to be breathing the phrase “effects based operations” in reference to Odyssey Dawn. Instead of trying to overwhelm the entire Libyan state and defense network through coordinated attacks, airpower is being used for the relatively basic tasks of destroying air defenses, airfields, and fielded Libyan forces. This is quite a retreat from 2003 in Iraq, and certainly from Israel’s 2006 campaign against Hezbollah.