O emprego do poder aéreo contra o estado islâmico na Operação Inherent Resolve

Abstract

This work aims to study the Operation Inherent Resolve (OIR), which was conceived to defeat the Islamic State, an insurgent group that established its domain over territories in Iraq and Syria between 2013 e 2014. The objectives of this research are to identify the theoretical framework that explains the conduct of the airstrikes during this operation, as well as to investigate the limits of airpower operations in counterinsurgency. To achieve this, we followed three steps. First, we reviewed the concepts of insurgency and counterinsurgency, in order to grasp ISIS?s conduct and how it can be fought, considering the possibilities of the use of airpower. Second, we presented the conceptual perspectives and lessons about airpower to discuss ideas from authors like Boyd, Creveld, and Lambeth, as well as from the theorists John Warden and Robert Pape. After this, according to the congruence method, we elaborated an analysis model based on the theories of Warden and Pape, which gathered the variables that helped us identify which theory has a better explanation for the conduct of the airstrikes during the period from october 2014 to january 2017. The last step consisted in an analysis of the components of the operation, namely its strategy, the airstrikes, the airpower missions and the desired effect of such missions, in order to compare them to the theoretical assumptions of both authors. In the conclusions, we reasserted the results found on this research, which demonstrate that Pape?s theory of airpower provides a more consistent account for the conduct of the airstrikes. According to his theory, airpower is better employed to coerce an enemy through denial strategies, and its potential is more exploited in close air support missions against targets located in the battlefield, as it was seen in the OIR bombing campaign.