French say U.S.A.F. tanker contest is fair; Ala. disagrees
Published 4:23 pm Tuesday, March 30, 2010
French President Nicolas Sarkozy says he trusts President Barack Obama’s assertion that U.S. Air Force tanker contest has been “free, fair and transparent.”
The AP reports that Sarkozy met privately with Obama today to discuss concerns that the Pentagon favored the Boeing Co. in the contest to replace 179 Air Force tankers. Europe’s EADS is still debating whether it will bid for the contract on its own since its American partner, Northrop Grumman dropped out.
Obama said that the process is fair and that the White House didn’t “meddle” in the decisions.
However, Stephen Nodine, a county commissioner in Mobile, Ala., where EADS and Northrop would have built their tanker, isn’t pleased with the Air Force.
In a statement released today, Nodine said he wrote to the U.S. ambassadors of France, Spain, Germany, and Great Britain and apologized for “the appalling way in which the United States Department of Defense has conducted the procurement process for the new Air Force Refueling Tanker program.”
The ambassadors of Spain and Great Britain responded. Here’s the Spanish Ambassador’s response:
“… whether EADS decides to bid or not, rest assured that my country will definitely look forward for new joint enterprises to undertake with your community. The openness and friendliness shown by the people of Mobile will not be forgotten.”
UPDATE: 4:20 p.m.
U.S. Tanker 2010, a coalition of governors, local government and labor formed by Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire, sent this statement about the Obama-Sarkozy meeting:
We urge Pentagon officials to show grace under fire and stay the course on the tanker competition. The process will not be fair, free or transparent if the Pentagon changes the rules to favor EADS’ oversized tanker, which doesn’t meet the Air Force’s needs and would waste billions in taxpayer dollars on fuel and maintenance. On the other hand, Boeing’s 767-based tanker satisfies all of the Air Force’s requirements at a low cost to taxpayers, and would support 50,000 critical U.S. manufacturing jobs.
