Commentary—

Connecticut’s Creaky War Machine

By William A. Collins

Never, since a

Little tyke;

Was there a gun,

We didn’t like.

You may not have realized it, but Connecticut suffers from a terrible military vulnerability. No, not from North Korea or Shi’ite extremists. Our likely attacker is the Pentagon.

This monolithic, mindless aggressor has struck twice already. First it was the Seawolf submarine, sunk without a trace. Now it’s the Comanche helicopter, brought to earth by a hip-fired, waste-seeking memorandum. Next, it’s likely to be the F-22 Raptor fighter, long planned as our main line of defense against Osama bin Laden’s long-range bomber fleet. Even the F-35 Joint Strike fighter, our chief deterrent against declining defense stocks, is rumored at to be risk.

Understandably our congressional delegation is appalled. Republican or Democrat, liberal or conservative, they rally as one to fight such treacherous attacks on Connecticut jobs and profits. After all, haven’t we long and loyally produced the highest quality weapons for America’s arsenal, never once asking whether they were needed or not? It was all a gentlemen’s agreement with Washington. They pay us to make the weapons; we refrain from asking if they make sense. But now the rules have been unfairly changed. Now, weapons are being cancelled simply for the bizarre reason that they serve no earthly purpose. It just isn’t fair.

Of course the contractors themselves have been smart. They each make several weapons, and in most cases, civilian products too. Thus they can ride out budgetary storms easier than a worker who either has a job or hasn’t. The contractors also hedge their bets by subcontracting abroad. This serves two purposes. First, the work gets done cheaper; second, if a system gets cancelled, the company isn’t responsible for as big a raft of whiny unemployed Americans.

But exporting defense work has raised other issues. You may not be aware that federal law only requires 50 percent of the labor content of weaponry to be American. In older times, this would have been scandalously low. Just imagine our vulnerability to foreign sabotage and our hard-to-protect supply lines. But today, since we have no industrialized enemies, those worries are out of date. Thus defense contracting has become just another business where you make more money by sending jobs overseas.

In fact a Republican congressman, the new chair of the Armed Services Committee, got into serious hot water by proposing to raise that domestic content labor provision to 65 percent. What a howl! The contractors — all big political contributors — went through the roof, including our own United Technologies. The congressman, to his credit, is sticking to his guns, but probably won’t end up with more than a bone or two.

And in terms of other foreign intrigue, rumors are rife about helicopters, too. Sikorsky, which lost the Comanche, has been sweet-talked by the government into hoping it may get a compensating inside track to build the new presidential chopper. That one brings lots of follow-on business. But there have been no commitments, and apparently won’t be any until after the election. This suggests to some analysts that a European competitor may actually have that cherished inside track. It could be a payoff to governments over there for softening their stances against the Iraq war.

Of course the White House won’t discuss these murky truths, but at least one other truth has emerged with crystal clarity. The humongous defense budget, in Connecticut as elsewhere, has precious little to do with military necessity. It is driven, rather, by politics, profit, and greed, with defense workers as pawns. If we only bought the weapons we really need, there would be plenty of cash left for other priorities, like health, food, housing, and child care. Don’t hold your breath.

(Columnist William A. Collins is a former state representative and a former mayor of Norwalk.)