Hightower Lowdown on Boeing

In a deal that was opposed by Bush's own budget office and by a hawkish panel of military experts, the Pentagon decided to give a sweet kiss on the lips to Boeing, agreeing to a six-year lease of 100 of this conglomerate's 767 jetliners, which Boeing will convert into tankers for refueling long-distance bombers in midflight. This is the first time the Pentagon has ever chosen to rent rather than buy such a big-ticket item -- and it's a mighty costly rental indeed for us taxpayers.

The congressional accounting office calculates the cost of Boeing's kiss as up to $30 billion. That's $50 million per year per plane. Was there no alternative? Of course there was. For only $8 billion, the existing fleet of refueling tankers -- which has been performing beautifully according to the Air Force -- could be thoroughly modernized and would give us 35 more years of service.