I agree that heavy bombers still do have a role to play - I merely believe that a carrier battle group offers a very useful first reaction force. In the early days of the war most sorties were done from carriers in the Indian ocean to get tactical aircraft over the target. Yes the bombers flew - but is sending a B1 on a 24 hour round trip to drop a limited number of bombs the best way of delivering airpower?
If you look the only way much of the strikes was done was through intense diplomatic pressure to get bases - not a given thing in any situation - if anything this is an unusual situation as so many countries are playing on the American team. Next time the nearest country may not be willing to play ball - look at airstrikes against Libya - the F111's had to go the long way while the carriers sailed where they wanted and launched where they wanted.
My view is that Carriers provide a superb platform to launch initial strikes from - the planes are there and more importantly so are the weapons + spare parts - you don'#t have to wait for weeks for all the bits to be flown in from another base as you already have them. While the air force do their bit to get their strike planes ready the carriers hold the line and do what is necessary. They are just another way of projecting airpower in harms way to do the job we need to do.