Military Monday with John D. Gresham

In the decade since the Allied invasion of Saddam Hussein's Iraq, Operation Iraqi Freedom, most Americans forget that it was a war that was dominated, and in many ways won, by airpower. And not that demonstrated by the nighttime “Shock and Awe" bombings of Baghdad, or the hunting of the “Deck of Cards,” but by an integrated application of airpower across the full spectrum of operations by Allied forces. From the attempted assassination strikes against Iraqi leadership targets (like Saddam Hussein and his sons), to the delivery and support of Special Operations Forces (SOFs) hundreds of miles behind enemy lines, Allied airpower forces made the rapid advance to Baghdad possible.

Amazingly, very little has been written regarding Allied air power operations during Operation Iraqi Freedom, leading to the possibility of important lessons being lost to the passage of time. One of the few genuine airpower experts who has taken the time to break down the contribution of airpower to Operation Iraqi Freedom has been Benjamin S. Lambeth, who has previously written on earlier conflicts in which airpower has been a major contributor. His new book, THE UNSEEN WAR,  published by U.S. Naval Institute Press (@USNIBooks), goes a long way towards explaining the unique contributions of airpower towards victory in Iraq in 2003, and provides a look at what might be possible in future operations

Join military historian, author and journalist John D. Gresham for Military Monday at 1 p.m. Eastern time, s he hosts Mr. Lambeth, for an hour which will take us back a decade, to the uncertain days of March and April, 2003. Listeners are encouraged to call in and ask Mr. Gresham and/or Mr. Lambeth questions, along with adding their own opinions to the discussion. Please join us for what will certainly be an informative and interesting hour of Internet radio.