Spain's military was overruled by José Luis Zapatero in ordering engines for a fleet of NH90 helicopters, according to leaked embassy cables. Photograph: EADS
Posted on 12/05/2010 9:59:04 AM PST by sukhoi-30mki
WikiLeaks cables: Spanish PM helped GE beat Rolls-Royce to helicopter deal
Ambassador's comments show commercial interests won out over Britain's 'special relationship' with Washington
Andrew Clark, business editor
guardian.co.uk, Saturday 4 December 2010
Rolls-Royce lost a lucrative contract to supply helicopter engines to the Spanish military because of a personal intervention by Spain's prime minister, José Luis Zapatero, following vigorous lobbying from US diplomats, according to a secret cable from the US embassy in Madrid.
Eduardo Aguirre, the departing US ambassador to Spain, recounts behind-the-scenes diplomatic machinations that helped General Electric snatch a deal away from Rolls-Royce to provide engines for a state-of-the-art fleet of helicopters bought by the Spanish armed forces, a contract estimated by industry experts to be worth more than £200m.
Details of how Britain's best-known engineering company lost out to the Americans will fuel concerns that the so-called UK-US special relationship does not always deliver results.
They come to light after other leaked cables reveal how American diplomats were amused by what they saw as Britain's "paranoid" fears. In the run-up to the May general election, Louis Susman, the US ambassador to London, recorded how Liam Fox, now defence secretary, attempted to win favour with the US by telling him that a Conservative government intended to follow a "much more pro-American profile in procurement".
In the cable relating to the helicopter engine contract, Aguirre portrays Spain's socialist leader as an opportunist, describing Zapatero, who took office following the Madrid train bombings in 2004, as "a wily politician with an uncanny ability – like a cat in a jungle – to sense opportunity or danger".
But Zapatero could be "amenable" to US interests, the ambassador wrote, describing the prime minister's intervention in a tussle in 2007
(Excerpt) Read more at guardian.co.uk ...
Spain's military was overruled by José Luis Zapatero in ordering engines for a fleet of NH90 helicopters, according to leaked embassy cables. Photograph: EADS
Wow GE a friend to this White House.
One socialist helping another.
Well, GE sucks. But there’s nothing wrong with a diplomat lobbying for his country. I’m sure the Brits were doing the same thing.
This is a non-story, although I suppose the Guardian will manage to raise some of the usual resentment against the U.S. among the resentful whom they cater to.
This happened in 2007.
GE is a SCUM company. NBC, CNBC, MSNBC and Universal. I dumped TV a year ago but everytime I fly it seems American and another airline had that 30 Rockefeller crap on. I read a book or use the laptop. Inside the airport they spew the garbage from CNN.
US TV networks - all 6 bought and paid for by the Saudis. F them. Includes Fox.
Somebody needed a bailout.
I do not watch much of those news networks. Fox at least a year. I got so sick of Sheppard Smith 2 years ago.
For those interested, below are links to EL PAÍS containing all the Spanish cables dating back to 2006:
Spanish:
http://www.elpais.com/documentossecretos/geo/espana/
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