AIR POWER A CENTENNIAL APPRAISAL - Tapa dura

Did the impact of air power in the Gulf War mark a revolution in warfare? Is air power impotent in politically fractured scenarios such as Bosnia? Does air power need to break free from habits and concepts induced by 40 years of superpower confrontation? How does air power impinge upon new security structures in Europe and the Middle East? Can "air power" any longer have the same meaning in Washington, Moscow, Stockholm or Copenhagen? How can air power contribute, and with what implications, to international peacekeeping and peace enforcing? How can the complexities of air power be contained within arms control and confidence-building regimes? What support can air power offer to international diplomacy? This study seeks answer to these and other questions by placing air power in the last decade into the context of its 100 years of evolution, promises and achievements. It draws upon extensive conversations with politicians, officials and senior officers during a research period of five years to construct this analysis. The book explains the advantages of and constraints upon the application of air power through into the next century. Tony Mason is the author of "War in the Third Dimension" and "Air Power: An Overview of Roles".