Can air power stop ISIS?可以空中力量阻止ISIS?

By Douglas Ollivant
August 8, 2014 -- Updated 2235 GMT (0635 HKT)
An F/A-18 Hornet is pictured aboard the USS George H.W. Bush on May 19, 2009. Two F/A-18s from the Bush struck ISIS artillery in Iraq on Friday, August 8. The F/A-18 Hornet, a late-'70s contemporary of the Air Force's F-16 Fighting Falcon, became the workhorse of U.S. carrier-based air power, and still supplements the Navy's and Marines' more current fleet of F/A-18E and F/A-18F Super Hornets. It is designed as both a fighter and attack aircraft.An F/A-18 Hornet is pictured aboard the USS George H.W. Bush on May 19, 2009. Two F/A-18s from the Bush struck ISIS artillery in Iraq on Friday, August 8. The F/A-18 Hornet, a late-'70s contemporary of the Air Force's F-16 Fighting Falcon, became the workhorse of U.S. carrier-based air power, and still supplements the Navy's and Marines' more current fleet of F/A-18E and F/A-18F Super Hornets. It is designed as both a fighter and attack aircraft.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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U.S. military's fighter fleet
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STORY HIGHLIGHTS
  • U.S. strikes ISIS targets in Iraq to stem the group's spread
  • Douglas Ollivant: Air power can be very potent when used properly
  • He says it works well to stop the enemy from offensive moves
  • Ollivant: Air power often fails to dislodge forces from defensive positions

Editor's note: Douglas A. Ollivant, a senior fellow with the New America Foundation, served as director for Iraq at the National Security Council during the Bush and Obama administrations and is now senior vice president of Mantid International, LLC, a strategic consulting firm that has business interests in the south of Iraq, including security, defense and aerospace clients. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.

(CNN) -- The new ISIS offensive in the North of Iraq has both shaken the Kurds and threatened the Yazidi minority with not only genocide, but also cultural extinction. In response the United States early Friday morning used airpower against ISIS targets inside Iraq. This is the first use of force against ISIS both since ISIS rebranded from al Qaeda in Iraq and since the departure of U.S. forces at the end of 2011.

So what can U.S. airstrikes accomplish? Airpower is incredibly potent when properly used, but nearly useless in the wrong situations. ISIS will present both these alternatives in Iraq.

Douglas Ollivant
Douglas Ollivant

Put very simply, airpower is incredibly effective against an enemy who is on the offense. If an enemy—be it a person or a vehicle or a weapon system—is on the move and/or fighting, they create a "signature" that is easy to spot from the air.

Since there will be no U.S. forces on the ground as target designators or air controllers, being able to see a target from the air will be crucial. So, a column of ISIS trucks or—as seen early Friday morning—a captured artillery piece firing against Kurdish positions, each make easy acquisition. Against these targets, airpower is nearly invincible. One thinks of the devastation released over two decades ago by U.S. airpower on the "Highway of Death" (albeit these forces were not attacking, but retreating—but the signature is the same).

 
Objectives of U.S. airstrikes in Iraq
 
Why did U.S. decide to strike ISIS now?

So when President Obama talks about targeted airstrikes to protect American personnel in Baghdad or Irbil, he is, in essence, saying that if ISIS attacks toward these cities, we will use airstrikes on their then-vulnerable forces.

Note that the President did not say that airstrikes would be used to eject ISIS forces from Mosul or Kirkuk or Fallujah. For in densely populated cities like these, airpower has real limitations. An enemy in defensive positions, particularly in urban terrain, is very difficult to engage with airpower. Even if the target can be hit, the possibility for collateral damage that causes civilian casualties is very real. And if the target is missed, the collateral damage can be exponentially higher, even catastrophic.

So while mission creep is always a danger in any war, in this case the chances of it seem rather minimal. The President has chosen one means—airpower—and given it a mission at which it excels; prevent enemy forces from attacking prepared positions, whether in Irbil or Baghdad. This mission is well within the capacity of U.S. airpower. When and if unleashed, U.S. warplanes can absolutely prevent ISIS from moving against these two Iraqi cities.

But reclaiming territory from ISIS will be another matter altogether. This will require a unified Iraqi effort—Arab and Kurd alike—under a new government with the will, legitimacy and resolve to accept the casualties that a ground offensive will require. We need only look at the U.S. experience in Second Fallujah—almost 10 years ago now—to picture what this might look like. Nor will U.S. ground forces be joining in this endeavor. This must be clear. There is no—zero—appetite in the U.S. public for such a commitment.

To that end, we must hope that Iraq remains on its constitutional timeline so that a new government can be formed and begin the long, hard task of regaining control over its territory. Therefore, new Iraqi President Fuad Masum must charge the largest bloc in the Iraqi parliament with forming a government. Soon.

可以空中力量阻止ISIS?
由道格拉斯Ollivant
2014年8月8日 - 更新2235 GMT(0635 HKT)
一架F / A-18大黃蜂被描繪了USS喬治HW布什5月19日,2009年兩架F / A-18從布什來襲砲彈的ISIS在伊拉克上週五,8月8日的F / A-18大黃蜂中,後期'70s當代空軍的F-16戰隼戰鬥機,成為美國艦載空中力量的主力,而且還補充了F / A-18E和F / A-18F超級大的海軍和海軍陸戰隊“更多的電流艦隊黃蜂隊。 它被設計成兩種戰鬥機和攻擊機。 一架F / A-18大黃蜂被描繪了USS喬治HW布什5月19日,2009年兩架F / A-18從布什來襲砲彈的ISIS在伊拉克上週五,8月8日的F / A-18大黃蜂中,後期'70s當代空軍的F-16戰隼戰鬥機,成為美國艦載空中力量的主力,而且還補充了F / A-18E和F / A-18F超級大的海軍和海軍陸戰隊“更多的電流艦隊黃蜂隊。它被設計成兩種戰鬥機和攻擊機。
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新聞提要
美國打擊目標的ISIS在伊拉克阻止該集團的蔓延
道格拉斯Ollivant:空中力量可以正常使用時是非常有效的
他說,它工作得很好,以阻止進攻動作的敵人
Ollivant:空中力量往往不能逐出陣地防禦力
編者按:道格拉斯A Ollivant,資深研究員與新美國基金會,擔任總監在伊拉克期間,布什和奧巴馬政府的國家安全委員會,現在Mantid國際,LLC,一家戰略諮詢公司的高級副總裁說有商業利益在伊拉克南部,包括安全,國防和航空航天客戶。發表本評論中的觀點僅為作者。
(CNN) -新的ISIS進攻伊拉克北部既有動搖了庫爾德人,並威脅雅茲迪少數人不僅種族滅絕,也是文化滅絕。在回答美國星期五早上使用空中力量打擊伊拉克境內的ISIS目標。這是第一個使用武力ISIS既因為ISIS從基地組織在伊拉克以來,美軍在2011年年底離職更名。
那麼,我們能做到的空襲?空中力量是強大的令人難以置信正確的使用,但幾乎沒有用在錯誤的情況下。ISIS將目前在伊拉克這兩個備選方案。
道格拉斯Ollivant
道格拉斯Ollivant
簡單來說,空中力量是非常有效的打擊敵人是誰的罪。如果一個敵人,無論是人或車輛或武器系統是在移動和/或作戰,他們創建一個“簽名”,很容易從空氣中被發現。
既然不會有美軍在地面上的目標指示器或空氣控制器,能夠看到的目標從空中將是至關重要的。因此,ISIS卡車的列或 - 看到星期五早上,捕捉的火砲射擊對庫爾德人的位置,讓每一個簡單的收購。根據這些目標,空中力量幾乎是不可戰勝的。一個人認為二十年前公佈了由美國空中力量對“公路死亡”的破壞(雖然這些部隊不攻擊,但退縮,但簽名是一樣的)。
美國空襲伊拉克的目標 為什麼美國現在決定罷工ISIS?
所以,當奧巴馬總統談到針對性的空襲,以保護美國人員在巴格達和埃爾比勒,他在本質上說,如果對這些城市的ISIS攻擊,我們將使用空中打擊對他們那麼脆弱的力量。
請注意,總統並沒有說空襲將用於從摩蘇爾和基爾庫克或費盧杰退出ISIS的力量。在這樣的人口密集的城市,空中力量有真正的限制。在防禦陣地的敵人,特別是在城市地形,很難搞了空中力量。即使目標可擊,造成平民傷亡的可能性,附帶損害是非常真實的。並且如果目標被錯過,附帶損害可以是指數較高,甚至是災難性的。
因此,儘管任務蠕變總是在任何戰爭的危險,在這種情況下它的機會似乎甚微。總統選擇了一種手段,空中力量,並賦予了它,在它擅長的任務的; 防止敵軍攻擊準備位置,無論是在埃爾比勒或巴格達。這個任務是在美國空中力量的能力很好。當如果如虎添翼,美軍戰機可以絕對防止ISIS移動針對這兩個伊拉克城市。

但是從ISIS回收版圖將完全是另一回事。這將需要一個統一的伊拉克的努力,阿拉伯和庫爾德人的一致好評,在新政府的意志,合法性和決心接受人員傷亡的地面進攻需要。我們只需要看看第二費盧杰,大約10年前美國的經驗,現在到什麼畫面,這可能是什麼樣子。也不會對美國地面部隊將加入這一努力。這必須是明確的。有沒有零的胃口,在美國公眾對於這樣的承諾。
為此,我們必須希望伊拉克保持其憲法時間軸上,使新政府能夠形成並開始重新獲得控制其領土的長期,艱鉅的任務。因此,新的伊拉克總統福阿德·萬森‧契斯必須收取的伊拉克議會中最大的集團與組建政府。不久。

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