MILITARY SALES US-Turkey imbroglio threatens big Textron deal BY STEVEN STYCOS

Textron’s foreign military sales are drawing criticism from religious leaders just as the war with Iraq is endangering one of the Providence-based conglomerate’s biggest deals.

Peace activists will hold a "Witness Against Violence" vigil at 9:45 a.m. next Wednesday, April 23 at the Rhode Island Convention Center, just before Textron’s annual meeting. And when the shareholders meeting begins, religious leaders will propose a resolution requiring the corporation to disclose details of its foreign military sales.

Textron’s Forth Worth, Texas-based subsidiary, Bell Helicopter, manufactures military helicopters, including the Vietnam-era "Huey," the AH-1Z KingCobra, and the controversial V-22 Osprey. Textron also makes military surveillance equipment, armored security vehicles, and other gear. In 2002, 2.1 percent of the corporation’s consolidated revenues came from foreign military sales, reports the impartial Washington, DC-based Investor Responsibility Research Center, and Textron’s largest customers were Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom, Mexico, and Venezuela.

Textron is struggling to add Turkey to that list. In July 2000, Turkey elected to buy 145 KingCobra attack helicopters from Textron, but a final sale agreement has yet to be negotiated. The deal initially snagged over whether the helicopter’s computer-control system would be manufactured in Turkey. More recently, Turkey’s refusal to let the US use its bases to attack Iraq has endangered the deal. Amnesty International opposes the sale because Turkey has used American-made helicopters in its violent scorched-earth campaign against its Kurdish minority.

In January, the Journal of Electronic Defense reported that Turkey was balking at Textron’s price of $65 million-per-helicopter and considering switching to helicopters made by a Russian-Israeli company. Then in December, US Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz traveled to Turkey and offered to use the US Foreign Military Sales program to finance the deal. Specifically, according to the Journal, Wolfowitz offered to ease Turkey’s $4 billion to $5 billion debt with the program. In return, however, Wolfowitz sought Turkey’s help with the pending American attack on Iraq.

Textron spokeswoman Susan Bishop confirms the details of the Electronic Defense article, adding, "The recent situation with Turkey has affected this [sale]." Adds Bell spokesman Bob Leder, "Negotiations on the helicopter deal have not moved," but,he refused to elaborate.

The Textron deal is the type of arrangement that Ursuline sister Valerie Heinonen hopes to expose, should shareholders approve a resolution backed by several Catholic and Protestant groups at Textron’s annual meeting. The resolution, which won nine percent support last year, requires the company to disclose "all significant promises" to foreign governments and companies designed to "offset" the purchase of Textron’s weapons.

"Countless thousands around the world are losing life and limb," says Heinonen. "The spread of weapons and the increasingly high-tech aspect of the weapons are destabilizing and having unplanned consequences." Although she concedes that the resolution will fail, Heinonen hopes to prompt concern about Textron’s contribution to world-wide violence.

Supporters also note that offset agreements, which often include overseas manufacture of weapons, mean that American workers don’t benefit from foreign military sales. Textron opposes the resolution, arguing in its proxy statement that it "could potentially place the company at a competitive disadvantage."