01 March 2008

US lawmakers blast Boeing defense contract snub - but should they?

US lawmakers blast Boeing defense contract snub - Yahoo! News
Reacting to Friday's decision by the US Defense Department to award the contract for a fleet of in-flight refuelling aircraft, Republican Senator Sam Brownback said he was 'shocked at this decision and very disappointed.

'I'll be calling upon the Secretary of Defense for a full debriefing and expect there will be a protest of the award by Boeing,' Brownback added.

'It's stunning to me that we would outsource the production of these airplanes to Europe instead of building them in America.'

Republican Representative Todd Tiahrt said he was 'deeply troubled.'

He added: 'We should have an American tanker built by an American company with American workers,' he said."


So we're not going to worry about whether or not it's the right equipment to make the American military the best it can be... We're going to fixate more on jobs than on combat/battlefield performance... We're more worried about a sop to the local constituents, because the military doesn't vote in a mass block anywhere, and it's easier to bribe the constituents into keeping you in power than worrying about what's best for the guys in uniform.

Public statements like this just piss on the military and it's very surprising to hear from a Republican. But I guess the issue of money clouds all other considerations.

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