Margolis on US Air Force

Even though the US claims to be preparing Afghans and Iraqis to take over security there seems to be almost nothing being done to build up their air forces. THe Afghans have nothing but a handful of leftover Soviet planes and I doubt that the Iraqis are much better.


Khaleej Times Online >> News >> OPINION
The US Air Force rules the skies
By Eric Margolis

29 July 2007



THE capital is abuzz with talk about withdrawing US military forces from Iraq, but nobody seems to have told the United States Air Force. Far from packing their bags, America's air warriors appear to be planning a very long stay in Iraq.


Why else would the USAF be expanding its air bases in Iraq, including lengthening a second 11,000 ft runway at Balad Airbase, a nerve centre for Iraq American air operations. There are persistent reports from the Pentagon that the US intends to keep six major bases in Iraq, each with a powerful air component, and a 3,500-man helicopter-mobile infantry brigade.

Bush Administration hawks hope to retain control of oil-rich Iraq by using American air power and Iraqi troops. This is precisely the same formula used by the British Empire after World War I. RAF units routinely bombed rebellious Iraqi tribesmen and Kurds, sometimes using mustard gas.

The US Air Force recently moved new squadrons of advanced F-16C's fighters and A-10 ground attack aircraft to Iraq. Powerful B-1B heavy bombers have been repositioned from Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean to the Gulf, an hour flying from central Iraq.

The $220 million B-1's, originally designed for low-altitude penetration of Soviet airspace, carry up to 41,000 lbs of bombs. Their deadly accurate GPS-guided 500-lb and 1,000-lb bombs have inflicted heavy casualties on resistance fighters and, inevitably, civilians in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Without US fighters, B1's and B-52's heavy bombers, and AC-130 gunships flying top cover, over-stretched US infantry in Iraq, and US/NATO forces in Afghanistan would very likely face defeat. Western forces could not protect their long, vulnerable supply lines against local guerillas without intensive air support.

US and NATO bases would become little Dienbienphu's. Afghanistan's previous invaders, the British and Soviets, were primarily defeated by their inability to protect their long lines of communications.

By contrast, the mighty USAF maintains 24-hour combat air patrols that can respond within minutes to calls from ground units, directing devastating cluster munitions, smart bombs, and cannon fire onto attackers.

Consequently, assaults on US and NATO ground units are near suicidal affairs. So Iraqi and Afghan resistance forces have adopted as their weapon of choice roadside bombs command detonated by a single fighter from a safe distance.

US and NATO units, under mounting attack, are increasingly calling in close air support and bombing runs. This over-reliance on air support is causing civilian casualties to mount sharply in Afghanistan and Iraq. Guerilla forces can be suppressed and dispersed by air power, but not decisively defeated.

Whenever the US and NATO claim 100 dead suspected Taleban' or 50 dead Iraqi insurgents,' many are actually dead civilians. There is no way fighter and bomber pilots can distinguish between un-uniformed fighters and civilians.

Remarkably, US satellites can read license plates through clouds, smoke, rain or foliage, and track human infrared signatures. Drones, U-2 spy planes and a fleet of electronic warfare aircraft provide unblinking, 24/7 eyes in the sky' over almost all of Afghanistan and Iraq.

The US Air Force has become to the American Imperium what the Royal Navy was to the British Empire, the source of its might, and means of power projection.

While the Royal Navy ruled the waves, the USAF can today reach and strike any point on the globe with devastating accuracy, speed and force.

In fact, the USAF is now so technologically advanced it is at least 1.5-2 generations ahead of the rest of the world. Russia has advanced technology and anti-stealth systems on the drawing board but cannot yet afford to deploy them.

Russia, China, and India are unlikely to catch up with US military technology for the next 25 years -- if ever. The US accounts for 50 per cent of total global military spending, and is simply too far ahead. Only Europe could compete militarily, had it the will. In fact, America's air power has enjoyed near absolute air superiority since 1943 with only temporary challenges during the Korean and Vietnam Wars.

The USAF also has the US military's smartest, best educated officers. The US Army's thankless role has become pinning down enemy units so they can be destroyed by the USAF's smart bombs.

The only real challenge facing the USAF comes from its old enemy, the US Navy, which is determined not to let the flyboys blitz its budgets and steal all the glory.

copyright Eric S Margolis 2007