I think that it must be remembered that Bomber Command did not in isolation dream up the 'area bombing' doctrine. All the major decisions come from the government and in this case Churchill. Harris merely carried it out in his own thorough way.. After all the early defeats in WW2 it was the only way we could strike back at the Axis powers. Had Churchill disagreed with this he could he changed the edict and removed Harris at any time. He was not backward in sacking senior officers for alleged shortcomings. That he left Harris in place suggests to me that he did not wish to alter anything in respect of Bomber Command. It was only later that he decided for political reasons to distance himself from the Bomber Campaign .Not his finest hour.