Washington Whispers

Pentagon's Gates to Face His Air Force Critics

By Paul Bedard

September 14, 2009 RSS Feed Print

By Paul Bedard, Washington Whispers

Defense Secretary Robert Gates, under fire in Air Force circles for capping the F-22 fighter program and firing the top brass a year ago in a leadership coup, has decided to go into the lion's den and address his harshest critics in the Air Force Association on Wednesday. His decision to speak at the group's annual conference came as a surprise to some in the community, who expected Gates to ignore the invitation and send representatives instead. But a Pentagon official said that Gates wants to address his recent moves and also boast about the efforts of the Air Force in Afghanistan and Iraq. "It's an opportunity for him to talk about all the Air Force has done, most of it unheralded," says an associate. "He also wants to explain his decisions to those most impacted."

The association is made up in part of retired pilots and Air Force brass who were shocked when Gates last year fired the Air Force secretary and chief of staff over reports of a nuclear mishap. The defense secretary also has caught flack for limiting the F-22 program to 187 aircraft and rapping Air Force staff for focusing too much on long-term security issues and not enough on the two wars. The upcoming appearance follows a pattern by Gates of taking on his most hostile critics, something he also did this month when he spent 45 minutes being interviewed by al Jazeera.

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Tags:
Robert Gates,
Air Force,
Department of Defense,
Pentagon

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The F22 will assure the U.S. controls the battlespace for many years to come if built in sufficient numbers.Its a barbaric world and if we dont have enough of these deterrents to ward off future challenges I promise you the fights will come to our beloved shores.

Rod Rodgers of FL 5:18AM September 17, 2009

I am deeply concerned about the state of the Air Force and the current administration. The f-22 is a overwhelmingly expensive aircraft, however it is worth the paying my tax money for its development. This administration as well as the department of the Air Force are more concerned developing unmanned aircraft to combat insurgency. At some point the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are going to come to a close, but what about the wars of the future, which I hate to say is inevitable and will be more conventional.

Russia is already producing its Su-35 fighters and has plans to develop its first fifth generation aircraft capable of beating the f-22, and at some point sales will be made to China, Iran, and Venezula to obtain both of these variants. Does the Air Force honestly think they will achieve air superiority by flying MQ-1 Reapers against these aircraft? I think not. Robert Gates and this administration, However, are putting all their eggs in one basket with the f-35,which is a great aircraft, but is far less superior than the f-22.

Bottom line, in my opinion I believe the Air Force should aquire 300 more Raptors, which is suffice, to ensure America's air dominance. It honestly doesnt bother me to pay for an aircraft that will assure the safety of my family and my country.

Chad of AR 1:03AM September 16, 2009

Before we assume that the F-22 is solely used or acquired for Iraq of Afghanistan look at the aircraft most utilized in the negagements, A-10s, F-16s and AC-130s. All of these aircraft are ground attack trained and equipped. The F-22 however, is an air dominance fighter that would allow the U.S. Military to maintain its decisive edge over the future threats spelled out in our National Military Strategy and the National Security Strategy that are not asymmetric, non-state actors as found in the CENTCOM AOR.

I also question the rationale of equating muslim deaths per dollar, done by Al, as a guage of success, something McNamara tried and failed with in Viet Nam. A better guage would be the ability of the resident population to provide for their security and move their nation forward meeting goals determined by those same people.

The F-22 is needed and without it we will soon have to choose between defending our forces overseas or defending the Homeland. I believe the current Adminstration has made the calculation that losing American lives at home is acceptable and inevitable.

All solutions have consequences and lives will be lost if the wrong solutions are provided to complex problems. Within the military those bad decisions by political appointees cost American lives.

Chuck of WV 7:15PM September 15, 2009

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