Airpower can hold Land.

In this round I've decided to prove my theory that Airpower can hold land by naming three historical examples where it did so, CON is free to scutinzie these examples or provide counters should he wish - though CONS's arguements does not have to soley be a historical dissusion on CON's part. I'll then conclude by making some brief remarks about Airpower theory and Airpower today. I hope to return to Airpower theory and make rebutals to CON in the final round.3 Historical Examples Where Airpower Held or Controlled Land1) The Berlin Airlift (1948 –1949)The first example of where Airpower held or controlled land all on its own is the Berlin Airlift. Following the USSR army’s encirclement of Berlin and Moscow’s ban on all land travel in or out of the city, President Truman –while lacking in available ground troops- ordered the newly created U.S. Air Force to begin supply drop operations immediately. The result was a total force of 692 allied aircraft that provided around the clock provisions for more than two million inhabitants; delivering some 2.3 million tons of food and supplies and some 13,000 tons of cargo a day for 15 straight months [1]; thereby proving to the world that airpower –by itself- could hold land.2) Battle of Ia Drang (1965)Made famous by the movie, “We were soldiers,” The battle of Ia Drang was the first major engagement between army infantry of the US Army and the army regulars of the People's Army of North Vietnam. On the second day of the battle, some 800 US soldiers risked being overrun by over 2,000 Vietnamese fighters; after hours of desperate close fighting and their ammunition nearly gone, a USAF ground controller put out an urgent distress call for “Broken Arrow.[2]” What followed was one of the greatest displays of military dominance in US history; within minutes of being given new priority, all available tactical aircraft loitering in Vietnam were given new heading to converge on location for danger close CAS; F-100 saber jets broke in hard onto the battlefield with napalm bombs; while other aircraft like the F-4 Phantoms and A-4 Skyhawks provided rocketry and gunnery support. After the initial aerial onslaught was complete, heavily-armed B-52s followed up the day’s events with a massive arclight bombing run, leaving a gigantic bloodbath in their wake, but ultimately saving US forces on the ground.3) Highway 80 and Iraqi No Fly Zones (1991)The last example I will list is Highway 80 and the Iraqi no fly zones. Highway 80 of course, was known by coalition pilots as the "highway of death." After being routed in Kuwait, Iraq's elite Republican Guard division attempted to make a desperate getaway back into Iraq. US Air Force planners immediately picked up on this, where American F-15s and A-10s (among others) made easy pickings of the Republican Guard units trapped on the overly crowed highway, needless to say, the carnage was immense. A short mentioning also needs to be given to the success of the Iraqi No Fly Zones; for years after the Gulf War, coalition aircraft on constant patrol occupied the northern and southern parts of Iraq, ensuring that the Iraqi Army could never again threaten its Kurdish and Kuwaiti neighbors. Operation Allied Force (1999)Finally, no claim that airpower can replace ground forces can be complete without giving quiet mentioning to Operation Allied Force. According to the late military historian, John Keegan; 'allied force proved, airpower alone can win a war[3].' In the 78 days of constant aerial bombarding by NATO air forces, and without the use of ground forces, it was airpower that ultimately created the political & military climate necessary for negotiations to take place at the Dayton Peace Accords; thereby formally ending the regional conflict between Yugoslavia and Kosovo.Air Power TodayAirpower theorist Giulio Douhet (1869-1930) once theorized that airforces would one day be able to bomb countries into extinction. But it wasn't until the advent of heavy and precision guided weaponry, real-time battlefield surveillance, new high-tech mobile command & control concepts (AWACS), aerial-refueling, and modern day jet aircraft that Airpower finally proved that it had the technological expertise to replace boots on the ground if necessary. John Warden's (1943-present) 5 rings concept for strategic bombing and total paralysis of a country -effectively featured in the Gulf War- provides a tactical blueprint for wining wars directly through airpower, these include; the destruction of an enemy's Leadership, Organic Essentials, Infrastructure, Population, and Field Forces [4]; all of which stand in direct opposition to the Army's famous AirLand battle concepts - where airpower is limited to a strike and supporting role. Yet, time and again, from Desert Storm onwards, airpower has proven the mighty go-to force for the destruction of enemy forces, the denial and capturing of territory, the elimination of priority targets, intelligence gathering, the speedy transportation of assets, and the political flexibility that is necessary to win wars. No other service has the capabilities or collective firepower to simultaneously match security objectives to air, sea, space, land, and cyberspace - all at the same time, and that is why Airpower reigns supreme. Sources:1) http://www.afhso.af.mil...2) http://arlingtoncemetery.net...3) http://strategicstudiesinstitute.army.mil...4) http://en.wikipedia.org...