Canadian media commentators suggested that part of the reason for the symbolic deployment of six CF-18s to Operation Odyssey Dawn was to make the case that fighter jets will be required in the future and help make the case for the F-35. Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Conservative Party caucus members have suggested that the Libyan mission shows a need for the F-35, while others, such as Winslow Wheeler, an analyst with the Center for Defense Information in Washington, noted that the United States did not send stealth aircraft such s the F-22s to Libya, employing non-stealth fighters instead. Wheeler stated that the F-35 is the "culmination of such malevolent trends" in the United States and concluded it is "a poor choice ... for the United States — and for Canada". Lockheed had previously replied to the same points by Wheeler by suggesting that the F-35 should be compared on a performance and cost basis against legacy aircraft that had combat equipment added, equivalent to capabilities built into the F-35 itself.