Why didn't the USAF go with a 2 seat F-16 and call it a day on the next gen trainer?

A reader made this comment that stopped me in my tracks...

Marius 
Welcome back F16A....this could be the next freedom fighter...

If you've been following the short history of the USAF's search for a next gen fighter then you know that the wish list was pretty intense.  They wanted the whole package.  They wanted frontline fighter performance in their trainer.

Of course this makes me wonder.

Was Marius right?  Should they just have bought new 2 seat F-16's and got this off the books asap?  Is this a case of the bureaucracy being so damning that they make work instead of search for quick and easy solutions?

I think so.