ROLE OF AIRPOWER IN TERRORIST REPRISALS

March 2009

Compiled by Kimberly Hunter   
Bibliographer, Muir S. Fairchild Research Information Center
Maxwell AFB, AL

Contents

The appearance of hyperlinks does not constitute endorsement by the U.S. Air Force of this Web site or the information, products, or services contained therein.  For other than authorized activities such as military exchanges and morale, welfare and recreation sites, the U.S. Air Force does not exercise any editorial control over the information you may find at these locations.  Such links are provided consistent with the stated purpose of this DoD Web site.

Some materials listed below require access to subscription databases.  If you cannot gain access, contact your local library for availability.  AU students and faculty can contact the Center's Web Maintainer for a password

All sites last accessed March 19, 2009.

Internet Resources

Afghanistan 2007.   Maxwell AFB, AL, Muir S. Fairchild Research Information Center, May 2007.  71 p.
Available online:  http://www.au.af.mil/au/aul/bibs/afghan.htm
MSFRIC bibliography on Afghanistan including information about U.S. operations in Afghanistan.

Bolkcom, Christopher and Katzman, Kenneth.  Military Aviation:  Issues and Options for Combating Terrorism and Counterinsurgency.  Washington, Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress, January 27, 2006.  45 p.
Available online : http://fas.org/sgp/crs/weapons/RL32737.pdf
If link does not work, copy and paste URL into your browser.
January 24, 2005 edition available under Documents section Doc. call no.:  M-U 42953-1 no.05-RL32737

DefenseLINK.
Available online:  http://www.defenselink.mil
Defense Department news and links to multimedia and background information about terrorism and the War on Terrorism.

FAS (Federation of American Scientists) Operation Desert Storm Evaluation of the Air Campaign.
Available online at:  http://www.fas.org/man/gao/nsiad97134/index.html
GAO report to the House of Representatives.

Grant, Rebecca.  Gulf War II:  Air and Space Power Led the Way.  Arlington, VA, Air Force Association, September, 2003.  37 p.  (An Air Force Association Special Report)
Available online : http://handle.dtic.mil/100.2/ADA466395

Irregular Warfare. 
 Air Force Doctrine Document (AFDD) 2-3 August 1, 2007.
Available online at:  http://www.e-publishing.af.mil/shared/media/epubs/AFDD2-3.pdf

Libya Raid, April 1986 (Operation El Dorado Canyon).  Maxwell AFB, AL, Air University Library, February 2000.  12 p.
Available online at:  http://www.au.af.mil/au/aul/bibs/libya/libyrd99.htm
Bibliography offers a listing of internet resources and links to books, military documents, and articles on the topic available at Fairchild Center. 

Scofield, Dick.  Delivering Combat Capability at Home and Abroad:  Why Can the US Aerospace Industry Deliver Systems for the Foreign Market More Rapidly than It Can Be for the United States Air Force.  Arlington, VA, Air Force Association, September, 2004.  40 p.  (An Air Force Association Special Report)
Available online : http://handle.dtic.mil/100.2/ADA466382

Terrorism 2008.   Maxwell AFB, AL, Muir S. Fairchild Research Information Center, July 2008.  95 p.
Available online:  http://www.au.af.mil/au/aul/bibs/terrorism08.htm
MSFRIC bibliography on Terrorism.


Books

Alexander, John B.  Winning the War:  Advanced Weapons, Strategies, and Concepts for the Post-9/11 World.  New York, Thomas Dunne Books/St. Martin's Press, 2003.  304 p.
Book call no.:  355.020973 A376w

Anderson, James Herbert.  National Decisionmaking and Quick-Strike Intervention During the 1980's:  A Comparative Analysis of Operations Urgent Fury, El Dorado Canyon, and Just Cause.  Ann Arbor, MI, University Microfilms International and Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, 1998.  241 p.
Book call no.:  355.422 A547

Cooley, John K.  Unholy Wars:  Afghanistan, America and the International Terrorism.  Sterling, VA, Pluto Press, 1999.  276 p.
The Contagion Spreads:  The Assault on America (includes discussion of the Afghan and Sudan air strikes), pp 215-241.
Available full-text through NetLibrary.  Subscription database restricted to AU students and requires an individual account setup.
Book call no.:  958.1045 C774u

Corum, James S. and Johnson, Wray R.  Airpower in Small Wars:  Fighting Insurgents and Terrorists.  Lawrence, KS, University Press of Kansas, 2003.  507 p.
Book call no.:  358.4 C831a

Countering the New Terrorism, by Ian O. Lesser and others.  Santa Monica, CA, Rand Corporation, 1999.  153 p.
Proactive Counterterrorism and the USAF, pp 70-80.
Also available online at:  http://handle.dtic.mil/100.2/ADA363163 
Book call no.:  303.625 C855

Davis, Arthur D.  Back to the Basics:  An Aviation Solution to Counterinsurgent Warfare.  Maxwell AFB, AL, Air University Press, December 2005.  28 p.  (Air Command and Staff College Wright Flyer Paper No. 23)
Also available online at:  http://handle.dtic.mil/100.2/ADA444383
Book call no.:  355.0218 D261b

Elshtain, Jean Bethke.  Just War Against Terror:  The Burden of American Power in a Violent World.  New York, Basic Books, 2003.  240 p.
Book call no.:  363.32516 E49j

Grant, Rebecca.  The Afghan Air War.  Arlington, VA, Air Force Association, September 2002.  28 p.  (An Air Force Association Special Report)
Also available online at:  http://handle.dtic.mil/100.2/ADA466792
Book call no.:  958.1047 G762a

Heymann, Philip B.  Terrorism and America:  A Commonsense Strategy.  Cambridge, MA, MIT Press, 1998. 179 p. State-Sponsored Terrorism and Retaliation, pp 65-78.
Available full-text through NetLibrary.  Subscription database restricted to AU students and requires an individual account setup.
Book call no.:  363.32516 H618t

Immaculate Warfare:  Participants Reflect on the Air Campaigns over Kosovo, Afghanistan, and Iraq, edited by Stephen D. Wrage.  Westport, CT, Praeger, 2003.  120 p.
Book call no.:  358.420973 I33

Jones, Seth G.  Counterinsurgency in Afghanistan.  Santa Monica, CA, Rand, 2008.  157 p.
Focus of this research is on the U.S. military strategy and action including air strikes and air mobility issues.  Analyzes the early stages of insurgency from 2002 until 2008, examines how the insurgency began, lessons learned, and recommendations for future U.S. counterinsurgency operations.
Also available online at:  http://www.rand.org/pubs/monographs/2008/RAND_MG595.pdf Book call no.:  958.1047 J79c

Ochmanek, David.  Military Operations Against Terrorist Groups Abroad:  Implications for the United States Air Force.  Santa Monica, CA, Rand, 2003.  37 p.
Also available online at:  http://www.rand.org/pubs/monograph_reports/MR1738/MR1738.pdf
If link does not work, copy and paste URL into your browser.
Identifies promising applications of air- and space power in terrorist reprisals.
Book call no.:  358.400973 O16m

Sloan, Stephen.  Beating International Terrorism:  An Action Strategy for Preemption and Punishment.  Maxwell AFB, AL, Air University Press, 2000.  87 p.
Also available online at:  http://aupress.maxwell.af.mil/books/Sloan/Sloan.pdf
Book call no.:  363.32516 S634b 2000

Stanik, Joseph T.  El Dorado Canyon:  Reagan's Undeclared War with Qaddafi.  Annapolis, MD, Naval Institute Pres, 2003.  319 p.
Book call no.:  327.730612 S786e

Theisen, Eric E.  Ground-Aided Precision Strike:  Heavy Bomber Activity in Operation Enduring Freedom.  Maxwell Air Force Base, AL, Air University Press, 2003.  28 p.
Also available online at:  http://aupress.maxwell.af.mil/Maxwell_papers/Text/Theisen_MP31 .pdf
Book call no.:  358.4142 T377g

Documents

Bolkcom, Christopher.  Operation Enduring Freedom:  Potential Air Power Questions for Congress.  Washington, Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress, 2001.  6 p.
Possible questions include the effective use of air power in Afghanistan; which aircraft are likely to be involved and how they are used; what risks U.S. aircraft may face; readiness issues; logistical challenges; and the effectiveness of U.S. air forces against a "low-tech" enemy.
Doc. call no.:  M-U 42953-1 no.01-RS21020

Bolkcom, Christopher and Katzman, Kenneth.  Military Aviation:  Issues and Options for Combating Terrorism and Counterinsurgency.  Washington, Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress, January 24, 2005.  41 p.
Also available online at:  http://www.fas.org/man/crs/RL32737.pdf
If link does not work, copy and paste URL into your browser.
January 27, 2006 edition available under Internet Resources.
Doc. call no.:  M-U 42953-1 no.05-RL32737

Brozenick, Norman J.  Another Way to Fight:  Combat Aviation Advisory Operations.  Maxwell AFB, AL, Air University, 2002.  90 p.  (Air Force Fellows Program)
Argues the case for enhancing and expanding combat aviation advisory forces in the Air Force Special Operations Command.
Also available online at:  http://handle.dtic.mil/100.2/ADA420700
Doc. call no.:  M-U 42252-91 B874a

Documents - Student Research

Barr, Robert S.  Can "Airpower" Counter the Asymmetric Threat:  Factors Influencing the Employment of Airpower Against International Terrorist Threats.  Maxwell AFB, AL, Air Command and Staff College, 2001.  31 p.
Also available online at:  https://research.maxwell.af.mil/papers/ay2001/acsc/01-021.pdf
Doc. call no.:  M-U 43122 B2683c

Byrge, Thomas.  Air Force and the War on Terror.  Carlisle Barracks, PA, U.S. Army War College, March 15, 2006.  20 p.
Airpower capabilities and goals are mentioned throughout the paper.
Also available online at:  http://handle.dtic.mil/100.2/ADA449641
Doc. call no.:  M-U 39080-537 B995a

Cody, James R.  Coercive Airpower in the Global War on Terror:  Testing Validity of Courses of Action, a Monograph.  Fort Leavenworth, KS, School of Advanced Military Studies, United States Army Command and General Staff College, 2003.  58 p.
Also available online at:  http://handle.dtic.mil/100.2/ADA415698
Doc. call no.:  M-U 42022-2 C671c

Damiano, Mark T.  Employing Aerial Coercion to Combat Terrorism:  Recommendations for the Theater CINC.  Newport, RI, Naval War College, 2002.  28 p.
Argues that the selective application of air power, specifically the employment of high technology weapons against select  targets that directly affect a terrorist's will, can overcome both self-imposed operational constraints and enemy strategies to defeat coercion.
Also available online at:  http://handle.dtic.mil/100.2/ADA400937
Doc. call no.:  M-U 41662 D1581e

Elder, R. Wyn.  The Role of Non-Lethal Airpower in Future Peace Operations:  Beyond Bombs on Target.  Maxwell AFB, AL, Air Command and Staff College, 2003.  32 p.
Also available online at:  https://research.au.af.mil/papers/ay2003/acsc/03-1413.pdf
Doc. call no.:  M-U 43122 E373r

Fuller, Kurt.  Strategic Targeting and the War on Terrorism.  Carlisle Barracks, PA, United States Army War College, 2003.  22 p.
Also available online at:  http://handle.dtic.mil/100.2/ADA414935
Doc. call no.:  M-U 39080-537 F9661s

Glenn, Kevin B.  "Complex" Targeting:  A Complexity-Based Theory of Targeting and Its Application to Radical Islamic Terrorism.  Maxwell AFB, AL, School of Advanced Airpower Studies, 2002.  103 p.  (Thesis)
Also available online at:  http://handle.dtic.mil/100.2/ADA420704
Doc. call no.:  M-U 43998-1 G558c

Gray, Steven G .  The Changing Role of Airpower Against Transnational Sanctuaries.  Maxwell AFB, AL, Air University, 2007.  42 p.  (Air Force Fellows Program)
Also available online at:  https://www.afresearch.org/skins/RIMS/home.aspx
Doc. call no.:  M-U 43122 H742c

Hollis, Craig M.  Coercive Airpower:  Qaddafi and Chavez.  Maxwell AFB, AL, Air Command and Staff College, 2007.  35 leaves.
Also available online at:  https://research.au.af.mil/papers/ay2003/acsc/03-1413.pdf
Doc. call no.:  M-U 43122 H742c

Phinney, Todd R.  Airpower Versus Terrorism: Three Case Studies.  Maxwell AFB, AL, School of Advanced Airpower Studies, 2003.  93 p. (Thesis)
Also available online at:  https://research.maxwell.af.mil/papers/ay2003/saas/phinney.pdf
Doc. call no.:  M-U 43998-1 P572a

Pratzner, Phillip R.  Strategic Air Attack in Military Operations Other than War Strikes and Raids.  Quantico, VA, U.S. Marine Corps Command and Staff College, 2001.  1 vol.  
Argues that strategic air attack can be one of the instruments of choice in responsive and preemptive actions against terrorists.
Also available online at:  http://handle.dtic.mil/100.2/ADA401111
Doc. call no.:  M-U 41886-71 P917s

Straw, Wayne W.  The Shadow of the Future:  Infidel and Apostate-Government Cooperation in the War on Terror.  Maxwell AFB, AL, School of Advanced Airpower Studies, 2006.  76 p.  (Thesis)
Analyzes two case studies from Operation Enduring Freedom that demonstrate the real and potential benefits derived from covert air strikes as well as the adverse consequences.
Also available online at:  https://www.afresearch.org/skins/RIMS/home.aspx
Doc. call no.:  M-U 43998-1 S913s

Thompson, Steve.  Joint Air Doctrine in the Global War on Terror.  Newport, RI, Naval War College, May 2004.  18 p.
Also available online at:  http://handle.dtic.mil/100.2/ADA425938
Doc. call no.:  M-U 41662 T476j

Trebon, Gregory L.  Libyan State Sponsored Terrorism--What Did Operation El Dorado Canyon Accomplish?  Maxwell AFB, AL, Air Command and Staff College, 1988.  57 p.
Doc. call no.:  M-U 43122 T785L

Wallace, Charles J.  Airpower Against "Irregular" Adversaries:  How Terrorist, Insurgent, and Guerrilla Forces Have Attempted to Negate Airstrikes.  Maxwell AFB, AL, School of Advanced Airpower Studies, 2006.  115 p.  (Thesis)
Also available online at:  https://www.afresearch.org/skins/RIMS/home.aspx
Doc. call no.:  M-U 43998-1 S913s

Wang, Albert C.  Surgical Counter-Terrorism:  Targeting Individuals as an Operational Tool.  Newport, RI, Naval War College, 2003.  28 p.
Also available online at:  http://handle.dtic.mil/100.2/ADA415674
Doc. call no.:  M-U 41662 W246s

Periodicals

Alder, Konrad.  An Eye for an Eye, a Tooth for a Tooth...the U.S. Airborne Strike Against Libya.  Armada International 11:35-41 January-February 1987.

Altieri, Jayson A.  Sky Cops.  Armed Forces Journal International 141:50-52 January 2004.
Reports that airpower can be used to greatest advantage in the war against terrorism in an air-policing role.  Options available to air planners; humanitarian airlift operations; and conventional bombing operations.

Boyne, Walter J.  El Dorado Canyon.  Air Force Magazine 82:56-62 March 1999.

Brookes, Andrew.  Air Power Against Terrorism.  Air Forces Monthly November 28, 2001.
Applying air power effectively to the new international terrorist threat will require imaginative approaches often differing from Cold War thinking.

Burgess, Mark.  The Afghan Campaign One Year On.  Defense Monitor 31:1-3 September 2002.
Discusses the combination of airpower and special operations forces in the effectiveness of the Afghan campaign.
Also available online:  http://search.ebscohost.com/direct.asp?an=7657327&db=f5h

Church, George J.  Hitting the Source.  Time 127:16-20+ April 28, 1986.
Information and maps of the Libya raid.

Clinton's First Strike.  Economist 328:16-17 July 3, 1993.
Discusses the U.S. bombing raid on Baghdad.

Collins, James and Duffy, Michael.  Striking Back.  Time 142:20-21 July 5, 1993.
Discusses the U.S. missile strike against Iraq.

Cooper, Scott A.  Air Power and the Coercive Use of Force.  Washington Quarterly 24:81-94 Autumn 2001.
Focuses on the use of air power as a military solution.  Discusses Operation Allied Force; the impact of air power on the flow of refugees and the challenges faced by the defense community during the operation.
Also available online:  http://search.ebscohost.com/direct.asp?an=5692654&db=aph

Corera, Gordon.  Special Operations Forces Take Care of War on Terror.  Jane's Intelligence Review 15:42-47 January 2003.

Correll, John T.  Blood and Thunder.  Air Force Magazine 85:2 January 2002.
An editorial that comments on the contribution of airpower in the war on terrorism.

Danskine, William B.  Aggressive ISR in the War on Terrorism.  Air & Space Power Journal 19:73-83 Summer 2005.
Proposes a strategy to disrupt global terrorist groups by employing airborne intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance missions to deny them sanctuary in weak states.
Also available online:  http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&an=17204382

Davis, Anthony.  How the Afghan War Was Won.  Jane's Intelligence Review 14:6-13 February 2002.
Author describes his observations of the co-ordination of U.S. bombing with united front assaults on the ground.

Doerner, William R.  In the Dead of the Night:  Hard Choices and High Drama for the Raid's Planners and Pilots.  Time 127:28-31 April 28, 1986.
Details of Operation El Dorado Canyon including a timeline and several maps (route to the battle, major targets, etc.).

Downs, William Brian.  Unconventional Airpower.  Air & Space Power Journal 19:20-25 Spring 2005.
Focuses on how despite almost a century of air combat experience, the Air Force today confronts a form of warfare it is ill prepared to wage.  Article broadly outlines a doctrine of unconventional airpower for missions of counterterrorism and counterinsurgency.  Recommends modifications in force structure and tactics that will help execute that doctrine successfully on the battlefield.
Also available online:  http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&an=17138116

Dudney, Robert S.  Weathering the QDR.  Air Force Magazine 87:2 December 2004.
Discusses directions expected to be outlined in the United States Department of Defense's Quadrennial Defense Review of the armed forces due for release in fall 2005 including the Bush Administration's global realignment plan; enhancement of standing of airpower; long-term strategy of building smaller and more specialized forces for fighting guerilla wars; terrorism; and other unconventional threats.

Fogelsong, Robert H.  Springboard for Airpower.  Air Force Magazine 87:39-43 March 2004.
Comments on the need for the U.S. Air Force to reconfigure in order to address concerns regarding terrorism and considerations for the operational readiness of air bases.

Grant, Rebecca.  The Airpower of Anaconda.  Air Force Magazine 85:60-67 September 2002.
Discusses the key role of airpower in Operation Anaconda.

Hebert, Adam J.  Airpower's Contribution to OEF.  Air Force Magazine 87:19 October 2004.
Reports on the U.S. Central Command Air Forces' activities in Southwest Asia as part of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan including the number and types of sorties conducted.

Hebert, Adam J.  The Iraq Story Continues.  Air Force Magazine 87:15 July 2004.
Presents update and information about Operation Iraqi Freedom or the Iraq War.  Total number of casualties as of May 24, 2004; utility of airpower in urban setting; discovery of arms caches scattered throughout the country.

Kan, Paul Rexton.  What Should We Bomb?  Air & Space Power Journal 18:25-33 Spring 2004.
Discusses the 100 years since the advent of airpower and its subsequent use in warfare, airmen and strategists continue to debate the appropriate targets for aerial bombing that will ensure victory.
Also available online:  http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&an=12933964

Murray, Iain.  Battle in the Skies.  American Enterprise 16:58-59 June 2005.
Discusses research being done on the air power of the U.S. during the war on terrorism.  Reference to a study by Thomas Donnelly, published in the March 2005 issue of "AEI National Security Outlook."
Also available online:  http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=f5h&an=17046067

Peck, Allen G.  Airpower's Crucial Role in Irregular Warfare.  Military Technology 32:16-23 March 2008.
http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=31732751&site=ehost-live

Politics of Air Power.  NATO's Nations & Partners for Peace 48:191-196 2003.
Discusses issues related to airpower and politics in the U.S; the role of airpower in the modern world and threats from international terrorism.
Also available online:  http://search.ebscohost.com/direct.asp?an=9808040&db=mth

Prunckun, Henry W.  Military Deterrence of International Terrorism:  An Evaluation of Operation El Dorado Canyon.  Studies in Conflict and Terrorism 20:267-280 July-September 1997.

Roos, John G.  Turning Up the Heat.  Armed Forces Journal International 139:36-40 February 2002.
Reports on the airpower measure of retribution in Afghanistan.

Searle, Thomas R.  Making Airpower Effective Against Guerrillas.  Air & Space Power Journal 18:13-24 Fall 2004.
The article presents a report on American security using airpower alone; in Iraq and Afghanistan the US military quickly defeated enemy conventional military forces and brought down hostile regimes.
Also available online:  http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&an=14886720

Stroud, William P.  Use and Misuse of Conventional Tactical Air Power.  Airpower Journal 1:16-20 Summer 1987.
Uses the Libya raid as an example.
Also available online:  http://www.airpower.maxwell.af.mil/airchronicles/apj/apj87/sum87/stroud.html

Tirpak, John A.  Airpower and "the Long War":  The Battle Against Terror Is Reshaping Air Force Priorities.  Air Force Magazine 87:70-79 November 2004.
Looks into the topics discussed at the Air & Space Conference of the Air Forces held in Washington, D.C.  Examination of lift requirements in light of the emerging new doctrines of the Army and Marine Corps; terms used to describe the war on terror; and factors to consider in using new technology for military operations.

Willingham, Stephen.  Military Role in U.S. Response to Terrorism Remains Unclear.  National Defense 84:28-29 June 2000.

Winkler, David F.  Swift and Effective Retribution:  El Dorado Canyon's Powerful Message.  Sea Power 46:28 March 2003.

This page was last updated on 03/19/2009 11:06 AM

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