Mythology and the Air campaign in the Liberation of Iraq

Abstract

The air campaign for the 2003 liberation of Iraq has led to the development of two faulty myths about the nature of the war and air power. The first myth was that the air campaign saw land forces and air power were applied simultaneously. The second was that the air campaign represented the failure of strategic applications of air power. The first myth (simultaneity) is flawed in that the coalition's air forces had ten and half years to 'prepare the battlefield' through reconnaissance due to the southern no-fly zone. Through that time, and certainly in the three weeks leading to the war, the coalition's air forces exploited every opportunity to engage in the suppression of enemy air defences. The second myth is faulty as it fails to account for decisions about the force structure required to liberate Iraq, the timing of changes in the air campaign and the relationship with the situation on the ground.