Lofty Matters

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The Pentagon has made a misguided decision concerning America’s national security.

It recently awarded one of the biggest defense contracts in history (for the Air Force’s fleet of next-generation refueling tankers) to a consortium composed of European Aeronautic Defense and Space Company (EADS) and Northrop Grumman over the US-based Boeing Company.

Northrop serves as the public face for the consortium but it is in reality a modified version of the French Airbus A330, which is a commercial airliner assembled in Europe by Airbus (a subsidiary of EADS).

In assigning this critical weapons contract to a European-built system from a European corporation, our government has just outsourced part of our national security to a company that is owned (at least in part) by governments that have recently opposed US foreign and military policies.

Can we really trust these countries to support us and provide us with critical military components when we need them most — during a national security crisis?

Consider these critical facts:

• The governments of France, Germany and Russia have all opposed US foreign and military policy in Iraq and elsewhere and are all partial owners of EADS and are represented on its board. These foreign governments could feasibly hold American security policy hostage by ordering delivery of the tanker withheld in the event of future disagreements over security issues.

• Awarding the $35-billion tanker contract to EADS and Airbus drains resources from our own defense manufacturing base. This is a key component of our long-term national security capability and America’s strategic edge.

• This decision undermines the US’s economic security by exporting American jobs! Compare Boeing’s KC-767 (designed and built in the United States and comprised of 85 percent U.S. content) to the KC-30 (designed and manufactured in Europe and will contain at least 40-50% foreign content).

Our elected officials should not be oursourcing our National Security!

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