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."

FMI: www.paris-air-show.com, www.house.gov/saxton, www.boeing.com, www.airbus.com