“There Are Two Approaches to Waging War, Asymmetric and Stupid”

Excellent short article by Conrad Crane on the enduring allure of long range strike and the appeal of airpower:

There are two approaches to waging war, asymmetric and stupid.Every competent belligerent looks for an edge over its adversaries. No country is more asymmetric in warfighting than the United States. An increasingly important part of the new American Way of War has been a reliance on stand-off technology to project power, with a promise of reduced friendly casualties and short, tidy wars with limited landpower commitments. Unfortunately, this predilection has often led to strategic overreach and a dangerously unbalanced force structure,eventually costing the nation much in blood and treasure.

Crane also has some good insights towards the end about how the Obama administration has approached the relationship between airpower, landpower, and grand strategy. Crane’s argument is very landpower focused; I think it would be fair to say that Grounded is more comfortable within a seapower milieu, even if its primary case and key recommendations focus on the relationship between land and air. Nevertheless, good, short read.