We all know Obama's defense people were bombarded with briefings about programs and policies but the efforts have, shall we say, lacked transparency for must of us.
Today I got my hands on one of these briefings. To protect my source I can't tell you who wrote it or who read it in the Obama organization, but I can assure you it was heard by senior people in the campaign. The piece was penned by someone who supports continuing F-22 production. It offers explanations about Navy opposition to the plane and details how and why the source believes senior OSD officials have opposed deploying the F-22.
"Senior USN opposition to the F-22 is rooted in the fact that its evolution would have a substantial impact on carrier operations. The carriers would be well configured to have significant unmanned strike assets, which would be directed by the F-22 to their targets," the author wrote. "The senior DoD leadership blocked deployment of the F-22 three times in recent months to the Middle East. These officials argued that it is irrelevant to current operations, although as one senior USAF official noted, "you can not have [it] two ways. You can not deny its deployment because it would have a significant strategic impact and then claim it is irrelevant.”
The source argues that deploying the F-22 would "augment the connectivity capabilities of the F-22 with allies in the Middle East." Most "notably" the F-22 could work in tandem with the Typhoon and Block 60 F-16s. The second reason for deploying them in the region would "allow a significant air battle management and strike capability to be available for a secure second strike against Iran," the source writes. Finally, the Obama transition team read that "if the F-22 has been operational in 1998, the senior terrorists leadership targeted by President Clinton might well not be alive today" because of the plane's ability "to penetrate air space undetected" and to retarget ordnance.
For the Obama administration, deploying the F-22 could be part of an effort "to move beyond the occupation of Iraq" and "transition to re-enforcing US capabilities within the region and abilities to work with allies," the source argues.
