OpenShift Express Tool: cannot create/import an application on a clean windows environment

The Eclipse plugin version showing is: JBoss OpenShift Express Tools 2.3.0.v20120308-2230-H57-Beta1 org.jboss.tools.openshift.express.feature.feature.group JBoss by Red Hat

On a new windows VM where new means:

• No ssh keys, nor .ssh directory
• git is a clean install from cygwin (no git config --globals set yet)
• rhc client tools have not yet been executed
• meaning there's no .ssh/config file
  I'm not able to clone my application's repo. That means I'm not able to create a new openshift project, or import a project from an existing openshift application.

Steps to reproduce:
1) Open OpenShift Express Console view
2) Select my domain -> App
3) Right-click on App, select Import Application
4) Login
5) Use existing selected application, click next
6) Check "Create a New Project" click next
7) Click ssh Preferences
8) Create my ssh keys
9) Post my ssh public key to my control_panel (https://openshift.redhat.com/app/control_panel)
10) Back on Eclipse, click Apply, OK, and Finish
Error:
Could not clone the repository. Authentication failed.
Please make sure that you added your private key to the ssh preferences.
ssh://cb2e5dfe1b3046f0ae7847e26ecc926f@kitchensink-nduongdemo.rhcloud.com/~/git/kitchensink.git/: session is down

NOTE that we tried many different things. The only workaround we have is if you:
1) Install the rhc client tools
2) create the domain - this step creates the ssh keys and posts the ssh public key
3) create the app - this clones the app locally
4) modify a file, and then git commit -a -m "first commit" - This step forces the user to set git config --global parameters
5) git push

Only then, can the steps above work (where of course, you no longer need to create the ssh keys using ssh preferences)