I would like to enter my completely uninformed opinion about something totally outside my field. That is what this place is for, right? I mean why ask such a question in the first place on 24hourcampfire?
My opinion is that if you are a world power of any size doing anything in the world and a carrier group shows up in the waters close to where you are operating, you are going to really think long and hard before attempting to do something that is really and truly against the will of the US. That goes for little podunk powers as well as big powers. Oh, you may try and be sneaky. You may go out and rally your people and tell them you're not scared, but you probably are not going to get in the face of the US. What makes a carrier group ultimately effective is what lies behind it, nuclear deterrent.
You may even have the ability to take out a carrier group with The Bomb, but you know that the missiles will fly and your sorry ass will be buried under radioactive glass in a short while.
Obsolete? No. Not for a long, long time.
Asymmetry and lack of commitment have been our twin bugaboos since WWII. We always get bogged down hunting wogs in places where a carrier's strengths are blunted, because there is nothing of value to bomb. Either that, or there is just not the will to go in an pulverize the wogs that are causing the trouble. However, those situation are not everywhere. We still have industrialized nations in this world that live in houses and work in office buildings and go to work in factories. Most of their populace live within easy reach of the coast and for them we have carrier groups.
Now, I have spouted off my ignorant opinion, and I am going to pick up Pooh Bear and go in the other room and watch an episode of Doctor Who with KYHillChick and Angus. Thank you for your kind consideration.
