Actually Tombstone it's not a "fact" at all.
Afghanistan is a classic case in point; If you ask the people who have been deployed out there, they'll tell you that the Harrier's abilities are very useful, but vtol operations? Er... where? when?
I hestitate to repeat (because you'll probably misunderstand me again!) that operations such as this are ultimately undertaken based on the abilities we have, and if we didn't have the equipment to do the job, our blessed government woud undoubtedly commit us to something else that we could handle. All well and good, but that doesn't make vtol either essential or necessary, does it?
Contrary to your comments, a lot of people agree with me that the Harrier's capabilities really aren't necessary in any way, and to start using sweeping statements about "experts" or "lack of understanding" doesn't actually contribute anything, does it?