Aerospace Peace vs. Prosperity

By Bruce van Voorst/Washington

Which is a higher priority for America, making peace in the Middle East or saving jobs at home? That, in extreme shorthand, is the painful quandary facing the White House as it considers the sale of F-15 combat jets to Saudi Arabia. If the U.S. makes the sale, it will contribute to the arms race in the Middle East. If the deal is scuttled, thousands of American aerospace workers could lose their jobs. Postwar tensions in the Middle East and the depressed U.S. defense industry have raised the stakes on both sides.

In the latest volley, the chiefs of McDonnell Douglas and five other defense-industry giants urged President Bush last week to seek congressional approval quickly for Saudi Arabia's order for 72 of the combat jets and 100 spare engines. "There are those who advocate a wait-and-see posture," the CEOs wrote the President, "but time is something we simply don't have." Unless the sale (long-term value: $13 billion) goes through, the McDonnell Douglas subsidiary that builds the planes in St. Louis and Tulsa will begin a shutdown of its F-15 assembly lines this summer. McDonnell Douglas spokesman Lee Whitney says this would eventually cost the jobs of 7,000 employees at his company and 33,000 employees working for 2,000 suppliers in dozens of states.

For the Bush Administration, the domestic call to arms comes at an inopportune moment. Just last January, pro-Israel lawmakers were able to persuade Bush to withdraw a proposal for a $15 billion weapons sale to the Saudis. The Administration is already up to its ears in controversy over its refusal to grant Israel $10 billion in housing-loan guarantees. As a result, ) the American defense industry regards the pro-Israel lobby as its nemesis in the dispute.

With thousands of jobs at stake, industry leaders have launched a hard-sell campaign, dubbed U.S. Jobs Now, which features a slick video sent to Capitol Hill lawmakers. "We have a potential customer, and we're trying to make sure that customer gets a fair shake inside the U.S.," says John Capellupo, the president of McDonnell Aircraft. The contractors' argument is that if the U.S. turns down the deal, the Saudis will go to a European manufacturer. The Saudis have 96 F-15s, which they began acquiring in the early 1980s, but when the U.S. refused sales in mid-decade, the Saudis acquired British-made Tornado jets in a deal ultimately valued at $30 billion. "The question," says Vince O'Reilly, spokesman for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, "is whether the Saudis buy aircraft made in St. Louis or from British Aerospace."

Proponents of the sale hope that labor-union pressure will sway recession- conscious politicians. Yet some members of Congress have been so adamant in their objections that neither the Administration nor the Saudi government has had an appetite for the battle so far. Democratic Congressman Mel Levine of California has collected more than 200 signatures of members who oppose the sale on the ground that it contradicts the Administration's own antiproliferation policy. "A lot of people believe a big weapons sale at this juncture is unwise," says Toby Dershowitz, spokeswoman for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the leading pro-Israel lobby.

With the heat so strong on both sides and the symbolism of the decision so starkly drawn, Bush's choice -- or lack of one -- on the F-15 sale will be one of the most telling indicators of the Administration's priorities this election year.

With reporting by Staci D. Kramer/St. Louis