EADS-CASA tries to neutralize senators' letter to Bush

EADS CASA is sending its big guns around Capitol Hill today, putting the squeeze on senators who signed the June 5 letter to President George W. Bush, urging him to crack down on foreign defense companies that help arm the Venezuelan dictatorship.

EADS CASA has been trying to have it both ways: participating in Hugo Chavez's anti-US propaganda campaign as part of its sale to Caracas, while lobbying the US Congress for money to buy the same planes.

The company's latest line: The Chavez deal won't go through because EADS CASA can't remove all the American technology aboard the controversial CN-235 and C-295 cargo aircraft.