But it is isn't it?
The way to beat terrorists is to force them into the last corners of the earth where it is THEY who even then feel insecure.
That means that we have to be able to project military power anywhere we wish and whenever and for any duration. That takes a whole lot of air-power.
Air-power is not merely bombs and bomb delivering platforms. Rather, it is also tires and brakes and composite materials and the people who know how to make them, ship them, maintain them ... and train people to do all that.
Well an "expert" may tell you that we do not need all that because we are going to realize benefits of the locals over there, doing the right thing by bring to bear their own forces and law enforcement against the terrorists camped out on that soil.
Fine.
Right on up until we need to be able to back them up ... and then back up our back up.
In such situations, we do not have the luxury of waiting around until somebody builds the required materials and somebody trains the required personnel for all that logistical deployment.
Nope. You need it "right now" when you need it.
It may interest you to read a book, such as the story of General Ira Eaker, or that of Genral "Hap" Arnold, or that of General Marshall.
See what the secret of their later successes was: There devotion to logistical support for air-power ... BEFORE the Second World War, not just during it.