Air Power and Afghanistan (and Iraq . . and . . Syria)

A-10 - Photo by USAF

Pub - Airpower in Afghanistan. Dag Henriksen has penned a report about what worked and what did not work during NATO air operations in Afghanistan. He has compiled the perspectives of nine general officers who served in top airpower leadership positions in Afghanistan during the 2005-2010 time frame. Included are recommendations on how joint combined forces can work together in a counterinsurgency or counterterrorism environment. Read Airpower in Afghanistan 2005-2010: The Air Commanders' Perspectives, 2014, 340 pages, Air University Press.

Limits of Air Power. The United States has the best Air Force in the world. But there are limits to its effectiveness in some types of conflicts. Recent disclosures by the State Department and the military say that over 20,000 ISIS militants have been killed with airstrikes in Iraq and Syria. At the beginning of 2015 there were about 30,000 ISIS fighters; at the end of 2015 there are about 30,000 ISIS fighters. Hmmm. Either our 'body count' is wrong or the Islamic State has one heck of a recruiting program! Read more in "Kill-Em-All with Airstrikes Is Not Working" by Micah Zenko, Best Defense, January 7, 2016.

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