"Ijust looked through the pages. The house was empty. It was a little tough. It got me, " he told reportersafter boardingthe Air Force Boeing 757 that would take him to Washington.
Boeing eventually urged the White House to seek peace, because it feared its European customers would side with their local manufacturer and stop buying Boeings.
In May, Boeing lured Tim Keating, a former Clinton White House official with strong Democratic Party ties from Honeywell International, to replace retiring former Nixon defense official Tod Hullin.
Some of the U.S. executives in attendance, such as Boeing CEO Jim McNerney and General Electric boss Jeffrey Immelt, have become relatively familiar faces at the White House, attending business-related summits hosted by the Obama administration.