Is checkers just tactics?
Checkers is defintely not just tactics! While checkers is not in the same strategic league as chess, there are clear strategic concepts. For example, controlling the long diagonal is somewhat similar to the idea of controlling the centre in chess.

Another example is playing to open one side, for the purposes of crowning pieces. This is analogous to the idea of king-side or queen-side pawn storms in chess.

Even choosing whether to commit to an exchange or not is strategic, just as it is in chess. You are weighing up not only the material consequences of the exchange, but the positional consequences as well, both short and long term.