US Ire Over French Opposition To Iraq War Evident At Paris Air
Show
It's a move Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld
calculates will stun the French, who refused to play ball by
endorsing an Iraq resolution at the UN earlier this year. It's
America thumbing its mighty nose at the self-interested French.
It's... aww, it's bad blood at the Paris Air Show, fallout from the
UN's failure to follow President George W. Bush into Iraq. The
result: no American military officer above the rank of bird colonel
is attending the air show in Le Bourget this year. America's
military aircraft at the Paris Air Show, scheduled to number 11,
number only six - without any of the customary aerobatic displays.
Defense contractors have cut back on their presence in Le
Bourget.
What was supposed to be a celebration of Franco-American
cooperation in the 100 years since the invention of flight has
turned into a miniature cold war. A cloud of conflict hangs over
the entire biennial event.
No Shows
Boeing CEO Phil Condit (right) is there. But in a
stunning accession to the Pentagon's apparent desire to snub the
French, Lockheed-Martin CEO Vance Coffman came up with a
"scheduling conflict." Northrop-Grumman, General Dynamics and
Raytheon executives are all no-shows at Paris. Even Cessna this
year failed to send a delegation or any type of display.
"The major US companies are reducing their delegations by about
a third, with some cutting by as much as half and others not
attending at all," said Joel Johnson, vice president for
international affairs at the Aerospace Industries Association.
"The Pentagon has been actively discouraging contractors from
attending the airshow," said Loren Thompson, director of the
Arlington, Virginia-based Lexington Institute. "From the
administration's viewpoint this is a relatively harmless way of
expressing dissatisfaction but I don't think U.S. industry sees it
that way. They see marketing opportunities being lost, perhaps to
the benefit of the French."
But the French appear to be taking the snub very
seriously - and pinning the blame on Defense Secretary Donald
Rumsfeld. His French counterpart, Defense Minister Michelle
Alliot-Marie (right), told the Paris newspaper Le Monde,
"The American Defence Secretary believes that the United States is
the only military, economic and financial power of the world. We
don't share this vision."
DOD didn't waste any time in reply. "The French Defence Minister
is entitled to her own opinion," said Defense Department
spokesman Jim Turner. "However, her opinion does not accurately
characterize the policy or position of the Secretary of Defence, or
the position of the US government."
European Aerospace In The Spotlight
With American defense manufacturers and military
representatitves in such short supply, European and even Asian
companies, led by Airbus and its parent corporation, EADS, have
taken the spotlight at Le Bourget this year. Russia and France have
pledged closer aviation manufacturing ties. Instead of
American-built F-16s and F/A-18s roaring overhead, the military
aerobatic demonstrations are being flown by French Mirage 2000 and
Rafale fighters.
Could this be the beginning of a continental air
show divide? The answer from Congressman Jim Saxton (R-NJ, right)
is, "yes." Saxton has reportedly bragged that it was he who
convinced Secretary Rumsfeld to limit American involvement in the
Paris Air Show. It was he who suggested that the six US military
aircraft that are on display at Le Bourget all be borrowed from
Operation Iraqi Freedom. Subtle? Not Saxton. He's even proposed the
Defense Authorization Bill include an extra $1 million for 2004,
aimed at the creation of an American version of the Paris Air Show.
The American version would be a direct competitor to the biennial
event in Paris.
Signs Of Thaw
In a
major break with its ally in Iraq, Great Britain, on orders from
Tony Blair, sent all of the UK's top aerospace and defense
companies - including BAE Systems and Rolls-Royce - across the
English Channel for the air show. It could be the allies' way of
breaking the ice in this mini-cold war.
In speaking to a group of some 70 American and
French business leaders after the G-8 summit earlier this month,
French President Jacques Chirac (right), who led the opening
ceremonies at Le Bourget over the weekend, said through his
spokeswoman, "France and the United States will remain faithful and
mutually demanding allies. After referring to the disagreement
between our two countries over how to disarm Iraq, the president
stressed that French and American authorities were committed to a
relationship based on trust and dialogue."