re: do you think it's possible to win a war without putting boots on the ground

No. We tried this during the first war in Iraq. We ran out of targets to bomb before we could encourage Iraq to capitulate and withdraw from Kuwait.

The senior military officials feared a ground war and gave the bombing campaign every opportunity to solve the problem, even as the negative press of mounting "collateral damage" began to risk an erosion of public will.

In the end, it was Schwarzkopf's left hook that was decisive.

Precision guided bombs play a big role and make for good TV, but they won't win a war.