The Secretary and Chief of Staff of the Air Force were fired by Gates,
in part, because the kept asking of more F-22s. Gates wanted lower tech items for the war in Afganistan. In his far sighted view he saw no need for more F-22s.
Gates has been critical of Air Force officials' calls to build more F-22 fighter jets, an advanced but expensive plane. He also has been frustrated over what he sees as insufficient deployment of unmanned aerial vehicles over Iraq and Afghanistan.
Loren Thompson, a defense policy analyst at the Lexington Institute in Arlington, Va., said although the "formal reason" for Moseley's and Wynne's departure was the Taiwan shipment, the forced resignations were actually the result of a growing "accumulation of grievances."
"In the end, what it came down to is the feeling of the secretary of the Defense that the Air Force just wasn't on the policy page he was on, that it was pursuing its own policies," said Thompson, who is close to Air Force officials.
The official also pointed to statements of a top Air Force general that directly contradicted what Secretary Gates has said about spending on Air Force F-22s.
Air Force's top leaders are ousted - latimes
Top Air Force Officials Fired - ABC News