SHELBY: Rigged in Boeing's favor

" open and transparent competition" ? Have you read the GOA report????

Thank you, Sen. Shelby. Why doesn't the media ever mention, when they're throwing around the word "foreign," that the Boeing fuselage is Japanese and other parts are made in the Uk and Italy? This is an American project that was to have been built in America by Americans, spending American paychecks with American merchants. Shame on all who made it a "me first" fight.

Why would the Washington Times print an article from an obviously biased reporter, Richard Shelby. In his article "Rigged in Boeings Favor", Mr. Shelbly makes the outrageous comment that the competition for the tanker work was fair, open and transparent. Then what did the GAO find in its investigation? Mr. Shelby of Alabama, obviously has a bias for the work to come to his state and the blanket remarks he makes concerning the tanker project are ridiculous. Yes, the war fighter needs a new tanker but not at the cost of thousands of jobs being lost to a country and company who we are at war at the WTO with over illegal subsidies for their product. Also, the bidding and competition WAS skewed towards Northrop Grumman/EADS as when the cry-babies at NG/EADS originally sought to bid on this contract, they themselves whined and cried that the aircraft sought by the Air Force essentially eliminated them from the competition until the US was forced to change the competition so that the aircraft they were offering could be considered. Even after mollycoddling NG/EADS into qualifying for the bid process, they continued to skew the process in favor of NG/EADS through the changing of the requirements, some of which the NG/EADS offering still cannot meet. Why is our Air Force continuing to hand over contracts to a company that cannot provide what we need in full? To skew the competition in favor of the French subsidized aircraft and destroy the industrial base of the United States is ludicrous. If the original RFP were followed, without skewing it in favor of NG/EADS, Boeing would have won this competition hands down. To have the RFP "adjusted" to meet the needs of keeping NG/EADS in the competition was due and just, then what Boeing did by taking its case to the GAO was also justified. You cannot change the requirement in the middle of the process and expect this to move forward smoothly. We kowtowed to NG/EADS, why should we not do that for our own American company so that they may be able to present a fair, open and transparent bid also? Mr. Shelby, take your Alabama bias somewhere else to sell, nobody other than the state of Alabama and its constituents agrees with your assessment of this project and process. And shame on the Washington Times for printing this obviously biased article from a man who is in the Alabama Senate and obviously holds a bias towards his states desire to build the tanker. When will you have fair and equal reporting. Why not print an article that counters Mr. Shelby's skewed and biased view?

Satyrman says: "And shame on the Washington Times for printing this obviously biased article from a man who is in the Alabama Senate and obviously holds a bias towards his states desire to build the tanker." Have you read the just-as-biased comments from senators in Washington (state), Oregon, Kansas, Nebeaska, etc., in favor of Boeing being awarded the contract, despite that company's sad behavior during its last contract round? Northrup Grumman is as qualified as Boeing to build this plane: they already build the B2 stealth bomber and the Pentagon's Joint STARS plane, to name just two. Foreign? Because they have a French partner? You do know that Boeing's fuselage is made in Japan, don't you (if you want to throw the word "enemies" around)? You know other parts come from Italy and England, don't you? Nosir, this contract was awarded fairly, and only Washington-type strongarm tactics have cost the Air Force a sorely needed weapon in our ongoing war against terror.

Boeing has plenty of C-17's sitting around that will function as a refueler (KC-17) and a transport (C-17). Double-duty of aircraft. Navy does it all the time. You ever see a KC-135 on a carrier deck? That's what an AIRBUS made into a tanker gonna look like. TOO big & TOO expensive. Drop a fuel bladder in a C-17 and drouges off the wings and you have a KC-17. Navy can do that with any plane On a carrier. AND F-18 HORNET. Keep it simple & cheap! Required reading: "BOYD" by Robert Coran! NAVY PILOTS prefers drouges.

I don't have a dog in this fight, except I am pro-military. But from what little I know about it, I do not believe Shelby is telling the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. He waxes patriotic but I heard patriotism was the last refuge of a scoundrel. However, I had one of the Clintons in mind the last time I used that line.

There are several items that have not been spoken on. One- on time delivery, Italy is still waiting for Boeing planes. Will they deliver planes to our USAF on time? Two - Northrop Grumman already has a tanker ready, and Boeing, isn't even on paper as of yet. This is only 2 minor issues. The US Military deserve better than another 2 year wait, all due to politics. The decision was made in February. I guess Washington doesn't trust the USAF that protects our County. Sad

There will be a price to pay. Boeings currently supply about 50% of the EU large civil airliner fleet, and US military airplane makers equip many EU airforces. I have no doubt that the EU Commission and European governments will come under pressure from the elected representatives of the cities that would have built the EADS/Grumman tanker to do unto Boeing exactly the same as the US has done unto them. You can take it that this stupid action will not speed up the European certification of the Dreamliner if it is ready for service ahead of its Airbus rival.

So the GAO determined that the assessment by the Air Force was done unfairly, credit was given to Northrop for features explicitly prohibited by the RFP, Boeing's costs were incorrectly inflated, and Boeing was not provided full information as required by procurement laws and this Senator says it was rigged for Boeing? Another elected official distorting the truth because something rigged in his district's favor was found out. This op-ed is trash and shouldn't have even been printed without an editorial correction to the lies within.