Gates Opposed AF Plans to Deploy F-22 to Iraq

The Air Force wanted to send the F-22 to the Middle East and Defense Secretary Robert Gates nixed the plans, citing the strategic danger from the deployment if it were misread by Iran, among other factors. This comes from a single usually reliable source with knowledge of Air Force policy and operations.
Then-Air Force Secretary Mike Wynne sent a memo to Gates last December in which he made the recommendation, as well as laying out several major arguments for Air Force budget requests for the F-22 and bomber research and development, according to our source.
Central Command had approved the deployment request and we understand several Arab governments were also supportive of the Air Force effort. The main opposition to the request, we hear, came from Ryan Henry, principal deputy to the undersecretary of Defense for policy, who worried that Iran would interpret the deployment of the countrys most capable fighter as a regional escalation at a time when rumors were sweeping the region that the US was planning strikes against Irans nuclear facilities.
The argument for deployment of the sophisticated fighter was that the US needed to take the lead in the air war in the region. Right now, the United Arab Emirates deploys the most sophisticated fighter in the region, using the F-16 Block 60 50. Sending the F-22 would have allowed the US to field the worlds top fighter and provide ISR and targeting capabilities that no US or allied plane in the region currently posseses.
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-- Colin Clark
pfcem,
"The FACT is that the 183 number DID NOT come from any study or analysis of USAF needs but simply from the number the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) was willing to fund through the FY2009 budget with no validity to it other than that the funds HAD to be allocated to other things. "
You are so naive to believe that. You have no experience whatsoever with the procurement process. That quote also contradicts other statements you made but I'll leave it to you to figure out. There is a reason why professionals and not bloggers make these decisions. But I guess since you think the reasoning behind every decision the DoD makes is public information you have all the answers...lol.
-DA
Posted by: DarthAmerica at July 12, 2008 03:52 PM