As it turned out, what air power provided was not victory, but carnage, terror, rubble -- and resistance.
Americans should have a visceral understanding of why populations under our bombs and missiles resist. They should know what it means to be attacked from the air, how it pisses you off, how it generates solidarity, how it leads to new resolve and vows of vengeance. Forget Pearl Harbor, where my uncle, then in the Army, dodged Japanese bombs on December 7, 1941. Think about 9/11. On that awful day in 2001, Homeland USA was "bombed" by hijacked jet liners transformed into guided missiles. Our skies became deadly. A technology indelibly associated with American inventiveness and prowess was turned against us. Colossally shocked, America vowed vengeance.
Are our enemies any less resolutely human than we are? Like us, they're not permanently swayed by bombing. They vow vengeance when friends, family members, associates of every sort are targeted. When American "smart" bombs obliterate wedding parties and other gatherings overseas, do we think the friends and loved ones of the dead shrug and say, "That's war"? Here's a hint: we didn't.
Having largely overcome the trauma of 9/11, Americans today look to the sky with hope. We watch the Blue Angels and Thunderbirds with a sense of awe, wonder, and pride. Warplanes soar over our sports stadiums. The sky is our high ground. We see evidence of America's power and ingenuity there. Yet people in Afghanistan, Iraq, and elsewhere often pray for clouds and bad weather; for them, clear skies are associated with American-made death from above.
It's time we allow other peoples to look skyward with that same sense of safety and hope as we normally do. It's time to recall the warbirds. They haven't provided solutions. Indeed, the terror, destruction, and resentments they continue to spread are part of the problem.
A retired lieutenant colonel (USAF) and history professor, William Astore is a TomDispatch regular. His personal blog is Bracing Views.
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Copyright 2016 William J. Astore
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