| The U.S. Air Force's chief weapons buyer on Wednesday said he was quitting to help free promotions held up in the Senate over a stalled $23.5 billion plan to acquire Boeing Co. KC-767 aerial refueling planes. Marvin Sambur told Reuters he had resigned as assistant secretary for acquisition effective Jan. 20 or sooner, should President Bush's next choice for the job be confirmed earlier. "It's becoming pretty apparent that if I stayed it would be very difficult for the Air Force to have anybody confirmed," he said in a telephone interview. He said he had not decided where he might work next. On Tuesday, Air Force Secretary James Roche resigned in a move aides said also was meant to clear the way for Senate confirmation of officers bottled up by Armed Services Committee member John McCain. McCain, an Arizona Republican, has blocked a range of promotions over the Air Force push to acquire 100 KC-767 aerial tankers, an idea he denounced as a government handout to Chicago-based Boeing... |