President Donald Trump called for Iran’s “unconditional surrender” on March 6. But can he do that with U.S. air power alone? The answer is likely yes — if the Iranian people themselves are also the “boots on the ground.”
Air power advocates have promised decisive results since the Italian general Giulio Douhet authored “The Command of the Air” in 1921. Douhet theorized that, after achieving “command of the air,” air power could target an enemy’s “vital centers” to shatter morale and to force rapid capitulation.
