Quote Originally Posted by davidbfpo View Post
I spotted this WoTR article awhile ago and kept it back: 'The War on Terrorism as Imperial Policing' by Joshua Rovner.

It struck me that it has application here, although the USA has been wary of being labelled an imperial power and following British practices - in this context the imperial era tactic of air policing.

Citing the last two paragraphs:
Link:https://warontherocks.com/2017/11/th...rial-policing/
David,

Think the following paragraph contrasts the difference between the British and U.S. approach at the strategy level.

The air policing analogy is far from perfect. Great Britain was pursuing an imperial grand strategy, supported by an imperial service. The United States does not have imperial aims or an imperial constabulary. Instead, its grand strategy is meant to sustain a liberal international order backed by a conventional military capable of rapid power projection. Washington seeks to solidify its power position by spreading American values, especially free trade and democracy, while ensuring that it can respond quickly in the event of regional instability.
We focused on sustaining the liberal international order and spreading our values, while the Imperial British focused on sustaining its power by using air power as a weapon of terror. Regardless of how you use air power, the promises associated it have always proven to be false promises. Furthermore, employing air power today is not a cheap option, a single bomb could cost over a million dollars. The Air Forces has priced themselves out business in many respects.

To the author's point of the necessity of developing a sustainable approach to our war on terror, I agree strongly. We don't need to employ 2 and 3 star headquarters and the associated staff to manage these security challenges in most cases. We certainly don't need high end aircraft designed to fight against a peer competitor. However, the lighter approach comes with its own risks as we saw in Niger.