War on Islam, brought to you by Boeing, Bell, and the US military

The latest from government contractors Boeing and Bell Helicopter:

Boeing and its joint-venture partner Bell Helicopter apologized yesterday for a magazine ad published a month ago — and again this week by mistake — depicting U.S. Special Forces troops rappelling from an Osprey aircraft onto the roof of a mosque.

"It descends from the heavens. Ironically it unleashes hell," reads the ad, which ran this week in the National Journal and earlier in the Armed Forces Journal. The ad also stated: "Consider it a gift from above."

The ad appears at a time when the United States is trying to improve its image in the Muslim world and Boeing seeks to sell its airplanes to Islamic countries.

Boeing and Bell officials agreed that the ad — touting the capabilities of the vertical-lift Osprey aircraft — was ill-conceived and should never have been published.

"We consider the ad offensive, regret its publication and apologize to those who, like us, are dismayed with its contents," said Mary Foerster, a vice president of communication's for Boeing's military side...

More.

(Thanks, Adrienne.)

Military marketing: The NYTimes highlights the difficulties in military recruiting during wartime, calling out a TV spot for TodaysMilitary.com that uses the tagline "Your Turn" as an onscreen superscript. Could the implication be more grim: Your Turn... To Die.