POSTPONED: "Lectures of Opportunity: Bombs Without Boots"

Bombs Without Boots: The Limits of Airpower

Anthony Schinella will discuss his book Bombs without Boots offering a new and thoughtful discussion of the limitations and utility of airpower when used without commitment of ground forces. Carefully constructed and exquisitely sourced, Bombs without Boots is an exemplar of what analysis of a thorny and fundamental military issue should look like. Mr. Schinella frames his arguments around five case studies spanning almost twenty years: Bosnia (1995), Kosovo (1999), Afghanistan (2001), Israel in Lebanon (2006), and Libya (2011). He describes, with extraordinary thoroughness, the strategic, geographic, and political situation that confronted airpower planners in each case, and then explains why decision makers chose airpower as a tool, to what end, and to what effect. The resulting analysis goes well beyond the military, ultimately assessing impacts across the entire strategic spectrum.

About this Lecture

Lectures of Opportunity offer U.S. Naval War College (NWC) students, faculty, and staff an opportunity to learn more about national and international socio-political subjects that may be of relevance to the NWC community.