A nation that has the ability to attain air superiority in short order, also possesses the negotiation power through the principle of "negotiating from a position of strength" - almost to the point that nearly guarantees that in international diplomatic matters the other side will yield far in advance of political impasse. This is a good thing, and for the United States, it's a great thing. It's also a wonderful thing for freedom and liberty around the world as long as we hold to our ideals.
You see, the United States of America has the greatest Air Force in the world, and we have the second best Air Force the world too, it's called the U.S. Navy. Depending on who you talk to in which branch of the military, they will trade barbs and tell you that the Navy has better air power, and that the Navy's wings are made of gold, and the Air Force's wings are made of lead, that's how come they are the silvery pewter color. But I digress.
Nevertheless, the whole concept of air superiority seems to have originated from the military diaries, and writings of the author of; "The Command of the Air," Giulio Douhet who was a general of artillery in the Italian army in the 1920s. His writings span from 1909 to 1929, and some of his thoughts were published after his death.
You can get a copy of his work still today, in fact the University of Alabama Press reprinted his work in 2009; ISBN: 978-0-8173-5608-8. Now then, on page 28 the author speaks of the overwhelming importance of air superiority, and therefore I'd like to ask the following questions;
In our modern age does air-superiority mean the ability to fly stuff around without being shot down, or merely preventing your enemy from flying around and then watching from the air, and sending in missiles to assigned targets? And what about the no-fly zone that the NATO forces put on Libya which cause the fall of Moammar Khadafy? The ability to do that was all about air superiority, and once it had been established the game was over, and Khadafy was finished, as it was just a matter of time.
Khadafy should've never pushed NATO, and should've backed off very quickly as soon as they said they might put up a no-fly zone. In essence that was the beginning of the end. Other nations would be wise, especially if they don't have the potential capacity to maintain air superiority, to get along better in the world. Perhaps Khadafy's demise, and the fall of his regime might be something that the Iranian regime might want to take a look at; who knows? Indeed, hope you will please consider all this and think on.
Lance Winslow has launched a new provocative series of eBooks on Future Military Technologies. Lance Winslow is a retired Founder of a Nationwide Franchise Chain, and now runs the Online Think Tank; http://www.worldthinktank.net/
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