Fall 2001

These are troubled times for Boeing. The loss of the Joint Strike Fighter contract, coupled with the devastating blow to commercial aviation dealt by the September 11 attacks, have left our friendly neighborhood defense contractor in a difficult situation. But fear not - Boeing is making every effort to make the best of a bad situation.

Our readers in the St. Louis area know how strongly the local press and politicians back BoeingÕs efforts. We are constantly reminded that 15,000 local jobs and the influx of massive amounts of tax dollars into St. Louis depend on BoeingÕs health.

In the midst of this pervasive cheerleading, few in the local community dare to question BoeingÕs activities. To that end, the Conversion News is proud to present a collection of stories that wonÕt be featured in the companyÕs annual report. Whether itÕs the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF), foreign weapons sales, or political influence peddling, there is always a darker side to BoeingÕs methods and motives.

THE JOINT STRIKE FIGHTER: POLITICS TO THE RESCUE

Boeing's loss of the largest defense contract in history, with an estimated value of nearly $300 billion, must have seemed like deja vu to many in the company. After all, it was the elimination of McDonnell Douglas from that competition which precipitated the 1997 merger with Boeing.

The reasons for Lockheed MartinÕs securing of the contract seem fairly straightforward: they built a better plane. Pentagon officials managed to overlook LockheedÕs abysmal track record of delays and cost overruns on the F-22 Raptor project, though many suspect that Lockheed's location - Texas, home to President Bush, House Majority Leader Dick Armey and Whip Tom DeLay - may have played a part in the decision.

In the weeks since the decision, members of Congress from the St. Louis area, notably Senators Bond and Carnahan, have worked to ensure that Lockheed share the contract with Boeing. Most recently, both Senators were reported to be tinkering with the 2002 defense appropriations bill to undermine the PentagonÕs Òwinner take allÓ acquisition strategy.

Carnahan has worked to insert a passage that compels the Pentagon to create a plan for the two companies to share the work. Bond has attempted to insert language that would require the Pentagon to study the impact on national security of the loss of one of the two major defense aerospace contractors. Meanwhile, Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas has opposed government mandated sharing of the work, for obvious reasons.

Conversely, Representative Ike Skelton has expressed a reluctance to utilize the legislative process to award a contract to a company that could not win on its own merits. There is good reason for such reluctance. The Pentagon has already examined the feasibility of splitting the contract among the competitors. Their conclusion was that such a division would delay the program by nearly a year and would require an immediate additional investment of up to $1 billion. These costs would not be recovered over the life of the program, as had been previously suggested.

It is Senator BondÕs contention that the loss of the JSF contract will eliminate Boeing from the military aircraft market, (continued on page 3)

October was a much anticipated time at SLECP. We hosted Bruce Gagnon of the Global Network Against Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space in preparation for the October 13 Day of Protest Against the Militarization of Space.

Bruce shared with the St. Louis community his accumulated research on the military's plans to place weapons in space. His first presentation, a part of St. Louis University's Great Issues SpeakerÕs Series, reached an audience of 185 students and community members.

The following morning, SLECP hosted an interfaith working breakfast attended by thirty five religious leaders from a wide variety of faith traditions. The diversity was wonderful, and a great discussion followed Bruce's presentation, focused on a faith response to the issues. In the afternoon, Bruce spoke to group of Webster University students during their International Studies Symposium.

The day and Bruce's visit concluded with a strategy session attended by local community activists. This evening gathering included many people who were somewhat familiar with the military's proposals for space warfare. The more intimate setting provided the opportunity to engage in discussion and openly share our disbelief and outrage at the various plans into which our government is investing billions of dollars in the near and distant future. We ended on a positive note, planning for upcoming events and brainstorming about how we can respond to these issues at the local level.

On Saturday October 13, we joined with thousands throughout the world who participated in the International Day of Protest to Stop the Militarization of Space. About twenty members from SLECP and WomenÕs International League for Peace and Freedom braved the nasty rainy day to distribute flyers to visitors at the St. Louis Science Center. I almost wondered if the military's plans for manipulating weather were more advanced than Bruce had revealed!

We arranged several follow-ups to the Day of Protest and BruceÕs visit. Faith and community leaders met with local aides in the offices of Senators Kit Bond and Jean Carnahan and Representatives Dick Gephardt and Lacy Clay, to express our concerns about missile defense programs and spaced based weapons.

We incorporated the remarks made at the interfaith breakfast into a statement to our elected officials. We hope to utilize this statement as a starting point within our faith communities to discuss the militarization of space, and I encourage anyone who is interested to add your input and become a signatory. We hope to get out into the community to share the research we have gathered. So if you are part of a group that would be interested in a SLECP presentation, please let us know.

Recent events have illuminated the many challenges we face in our efforts to prevent the placement of weapons in space. Despite the obvious fact that missile defense would not have prevented the tremendous loss of life on September 11, many officials state that the attacks are further proof that we need a missile defense system.

The people of the United States are at a critical point in time, a brief moment where we can take a proactive stance to prevent warfare from entering space. I urge you to contact your elected officials in support of Congressman Dennis KucinichÕs Space Preservation Act of 2001 (HR 2977), which permanently prohibits space based weapons and eliminates funding for research and development of such weapons. We must take responsibility for both our actions and the actions of those in power, if we are to leave a better world for our children.