"fact is that 'air' has made a major difference to this conflict, saved many lives in Benghazi, and is having a decisive impact. It just so happens that the tonka is at the forefront of it and is displaying it's ability to swing role very well"
Without the US Navy surface warships and submarines firing off significant numbers of TLACM's (our Navy added a few more to the total) initial implemenation of the NFZ would have been at greater risk of some Libyan response. We also made use of Tornado to fire off Storm Shadow.
We can destroy the Colonels armoured elements if they are a threat at much reduced risk. For the RAF the tonka must then be at the forefront, as it is all that we have that can fire Brimstone.
Our efforts and those of Canada, Norway etc, take the form of land based air. France is using land and carrier based air, the USAF and Navy land based air and the US Marines their carrier based Harrier's.
Don't think anyone doubted that air would make the difference but it took the deployment of more than just air assets to make sure that this is now so. Problem might then be what other assets will be needed to conclude this UN approved intervention if the fighting moves west around urban centres like Sirte, Tripoli etc were the use of air power alone will be harder.