Sometimes, defense contractors simply bilk the government, a la Halliburton. Other times, they both bilk the government and manage to create offensive advertising at the same time. The recent case of Boeing and Bell provides such a double whammy. The gestation of the V-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft has been long and troubled. 23 Marines have been killed in its development. Also, its history is not marked by cost effectiveness either, to no one's surprise.It's understandable then that Boeing and Bell were rather ecstatic when the Osprey finally completed its tests successfully and was cleared for full production. Boeing and Bell initially caught flak with running the pictured ad a month ago in the Armed Forces Journal. Not wising up, they then ran the very same ad just last week in the National Journal--by mistake, or so they claim. The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) was offended by the image of "hell" being a mosque coming under siege, presumably by American troops from "heaven". Of course, this sort of thing is excellent fodder for jihadists--American companies reaping profits by blowing up mosques appears to be the perfect recruitment tool. Will the tilt-rotor aircraft revolutionize fighting as its proponents claim? Well, it may be the case that it first manages to revolutionize young Islamic men into becoming fighters.
Posted by Emmanuel | 
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