The Air Campaign: John Warden and the Classical Airpower Theorists

Abstract

Abstract : Much has been made about the planning for and execution of the aerial dimension of the 1991 Gulf War against Iraq. A major debate both within and outside of the US Air Force has been associated with the influence of Col John Warden. He was then a member of the Air Staff in the Pentagon and theoretically without an assigned function in theater-level campaign planning. Arguments that the Gulf War was a manifestation of a revolution in military affairs (RMA) with profound implications have greatly but unnecessarily complicated the debate. Equally important is the argument that antedated the Gulf War to the effect that such conflicts between states using conventional weapons and methods are a passing phenomenon. The Gulf War might have been the last of its breed.