Air Power, Insurgency and the “War on Terror” - Prof. Joel Hayward's ...

Chapter 10
Fire <strong>and</strong> Rescue services in <strong>the</strong> open during <strong>the</strong> second raid thus preventing any chance of
halting <strong>the</strong> firestorms. When <strong>the</strong> US bombers arrived in <strong>the</strong> morning <strong>the</strong>re was little left
to destroy but that did not stop <strong>the</strong>m from strafing <strong>the</strong> few survivors in <strong>the</strong> streets, many
of whom were women <strong>and</strong> children. Estimates for <strong>the</strong> number killed in Dresden range
from 25,000 to over 100,000. Similar raids <strong>and</strong> events occurred in o<strong>the</strong>r German towns.
The Terrorism Label
An increasingly relevant footnote to <strong>the</strong> legacy of Dresden is <strong>the</strong> periodic accusation
of terrorism against <strong>the</strong> British. In his recent research project entitled, “The Ethics of
Bombing Dresden,” Lieutenant-Colonel Raymond Wilcox of <strong>the</strong> US Army War College
frequently uses <strong>the</strong> term “terror” to describe <strong>the</strong> RAF strategic bombing strategy during
World War II. He never uses <strong>the</strong> term in connection with US use of air power. Instead he
acknowledges that, “while we did not agree with <strong>the</strong> aim of <strong>the</strong> British terror bombing,
we ultimately concurred on its use”. 414 Wilcox accepted that <strong>the</strong> US used firestorm tactics
similar to Dresden with devastating effect in Japan <strong>and</strong> ultimately closed <strong>the</strong> war with <strong>the</strong>
use of atomic weapons against Hiroshima <strong>and</strong> Nagasaki, killing up to 140,000 thous<strong>and</strong>
civilians in <strong>the</strong> initial blasts alone. Terrorism is a loaded word. It is used to describe <strong>the</strong>
actions of o<strong>the</strong>rs, even allies, but never one’s own forces. Fifty years later a man in a cave
would describe <strong>the</strong> US use of air power in Japan during World War II as terrorism, <strong>and</strong> five
years after that, he would bring terrorism to US cities.
Recently released British Government Classified correspondence <strong>and</strong> records, which are
now widely available on <strong>the</strong> internet, seem to accept a British policy involving <strong>the</strong> use of
terror in WWII. Prime Minister Churchill writing to General Ismay after Dresden said:
It seems to me that <strong>the</strong> moment has come when <strong>the</strong> question of
bombing of German cities simply for <strong>the</strong> sake of increasing <strong>the</strong>
terror, though under o<strong>the</strong>r pretexts, should be reviewed. O<strong>the</strong>rwise
we shall come into control of an utterly ruined l<strong>and</strong>. … I feel <strong>the</strong>
need for more precise concentration upon military objectives.
… ra<strong>the</strong>r than on mere acts of terror <strong>and</strong> wanton destruction,
however impressive. 415
This document not only concedes <strong>the</strong> use of <strong>the</strong> term “terror” to describe Allied bombing
but also accepts <strong>the</strong> policy was presented differently to <strong>the</strong> public <strong>and</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r parts of <strong>the</strong>
Establishment. It fur<strong>the</strong>r indicates that restraining <strong>the</strong> policy was driven by future strategic
<strong>and</strong> political objectives ra<strong>the</strong>r than ethical ones. This material is likely to be increasingly
exploited by Osama bin Laden <strong>and</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r terrorists.
<strong>Air</strong> <strong>Power</strong>, <strong>Insurgency</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> “War on Terror” 167