U.S. Loses Multibillion-Dollar Contract Because of Administration Spying

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PJMedia:

The U.S. lost a fighter jet contract with Brazil worth $4.5 billion in the wake of the South American country’s anger over revelations that President Obama’s intelligence agencies spied on the personal communications of President Dilma Rousseff.

 

Boeing was considered to be the front-runner for the contract with its F/A-18 Super Hornet until the leak from former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden.

 

Instead, the Brazilian air force will be supplied by Saab, with an initial order of 36 new Gripen NG fighters by 2020. Negotiations over the contract bids had been going on for years and Rousseff’s decision, which apparently caught all of the parties involved by surprise, came this morning, the Brazilian government said in a statement.

“We are indeed a peaceful country, but we will not be helpless,” Rousseff said. “…We have much to learn; it is important to be aware that a country the size of Brazil must always be ready to protect citizens, property and sovereignty.”