The No-Fly Zone

The public debate preceding the decision to establish a no-fly zone over Libya to protect much of its population from the armed forces of the dictator Muammar Gaddafi was largely ill-informed. Many participants offered little more than the usual assertions: that no-fly zones don’t work, cost too much, and cause excessive casualties on both sides.

History reveals that those criticisms are wrong on every count. Indeed, for more than 80 years, the enforcement of extended air blockades has been perhaps the West’s single most cost-effective military option. This should not be surprising. Unlike other options, such as invasion, occupation, and counterinsurgency warfare, the full application of a no-fly zone represents an enormous asymmetric advantage for the West.