Since World War II, the United States has been known as the “arsenal of Democracy.” We earned that title by providing the bulk of the weapons used by our allies, in some cases before they were actually our allies. From Lend-Lease through the end of the war, it was American factories and technology that won the war and made the postwar peace secure.
In the decades since, the U.S has remained unchallenged when it comes to weapon systems. No country can fly against our Air Force or sail against our Navy.
A big reason for that dominance in both realms is our tanker program. Because American planes can refuel in the air, they have greater range than our enemies. They can fly further and remain in theater longer. Meanwhile, the U.S. has more naval ships than any other nation and powers those vessels with unique nuclear engines. This technology must remain exclusively in American hands, or our enemies might suddenly be able to threaten airstrikes on our cities.
Oddly, these days, some are pushing policies that could weaken that advantage. Instead of giving future defense contracts to American companies with production lines in the United States and stock sold on American exchanges, there are defense projects that may go to the European aerospace giant Airbus.
Oh, sure, Airbus promises to work on some projects here in the U.S., and that seems to be enough for some lawmakers. But it shouldn’t be. It’s not simply because Airbus is a European company. It’s also a problem because Airbus cheats on its competitors.
Last year, the Justice Department
reported that Airbus
“has agreed to pay combined penalties of more than $3.9 billion to resolve foreign bribery charges with authorities in the United States, France and the United Kingdom arising out of the Company’s scheme to use third-party business partners to bribe government officials, as well as non-governmental airline executives.” It’s the largest foreign bribery resolution ever.
Airbus admitted it paid bribes in China, of all places.
The Chinese, it goes without saying, are America’s biggest threat right now and are very much antidemocratic. Again, make note: Airbus was so eager to operate in China it was paying bribes to officials there. Shouldn’t we be relying on companies that operate in the U.S. legally rather than in China illegally, especially since anything that is built in China can be appropriated by the government? What a great way for Beijing to steal our military secrets.
In this case, the Justice Department was able to head off the threat.
“International corruption involving sensitive U.S. defense technology presents a particularly dangerous combination,” Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General David P. Burns of the Justice Department’s National Security Division
said last year
. This “announcement demonstrates the Department’s continuing commitment to ensuring that those who violate our export control laws are held to account.” That is a great start, but it isn’t enough. Airbus should pay more than money: It should also lose the ability to bid on defense contracts here.
Think of it like this: When a college basketball team is caught cheating, it loses scholarships. When a professional athlete is caught cheating, he will be suspended, often for months. Well, national security is far more important than sports. American lives are at stake — lives today and lives in the future if we lose control of the skies.
Airbus should be suspended from bidding for years, at least. Meanwhile, American companies will keep playing by the bidding rules and will keep delivering the made-in-America systems our country needs to keep citizens safe.
John Moore is a former U.S. Army Ranger who served in Iraq and devoted a total of 24 years to military service. After retiring from the military, Moore was elected to the Nevada State Assembly, where he served from 2014-2016.