... the question was not the use of force generically, but the specific uses of force ... the amphibious assault, the extended series of air sorties from the deck of the heavy carrier.

A task force arriving somewhere, securing a port, with the government or forces contending for power unable to provide security in a volatile situation, then using the port to bring in material ... a light carrier with a mix of helicopters and jump-jets, some landing docks, some frigates for surface cover ... that's not hard to see.

But if it requires a heavy carrier and a squadron of amphibious assault vessels, that strikes me as war-making.


I've been accused of being a Marxist, yet while Harpo's my favourite, it's Groucho I'm always quoting. Odd, that.