Posted on 12/31/2013 1:39:58 AM PST by vertolet888
US President Barack Obama has signed a bill hindering the construction of GLONASS stations on the US territory. The document rules that the matter requires the Secretary of Defense and the Director of National Intelligence to report the case to Congress first.
Under the Republican-proposed bill, the Pentagon and CIA chiefs are to provide assurances that GLONASS stations will not be used for spying against the US or for improving the efficiency of Russian weapons, the New York Times says.
The signing was preceded by protracted debates between various US agencies and departments. The bill reflects their authors’ suspicions towards and distrust of Russia’s GLONASS global satellite navigation system. One of the authors of the bill acknowledged in an interview that the aim was to make the construction of GLONASS stations in the US almost or totally impossible and also to prevent the Department of State from having a say on the issue.
The GLONASS bill was subsequently included into the Pentagon’s draft next year budget.
In an apparent attempt to play down the consequences of the move, the White House has announced that talks with the Russian side will continue.
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence has declined to comment on the issue. A spokesperson for the Department of State said that the matter would be handled in line with the existing legislation.
In 2012, Russia’s Roscosmos space agency announced plans to build eight monitoring stations on US soil to improve the accuracy of GLONASS. Russia has 19 ground-based GLONASS stations on its own territory.
In November, the Pentagon and the CIA, fearing that the move might enhance the capability of the Russian space system, urged the State Department to turn down Roscosmos’ request.
LOL. GPS has some 20 stations in Russia. What if Russian military will ban these too?
Well, it looks like nobody knows the number of GPS stations in Russia.
The Russian government does not have information about ground infrastructure for the United States’ GPS navigation system in Russia, a deputy prime minister said. Dmitry Rogozin said Russian federal officials only “threw up their hands” when asked about “GPS signal calibration stations” in the country.
The Soviets promised the British not to put their jet engine technology on fighters. The MiG-15 proved that their promises are not to be trusted.
Odumbo does what HE wants and doesn’t give a rats behind what Congress has to say, HE and only HE rules.
Obama signed it but the Republican congress introduced the bill and passed it.
I’m surprised Obama bans anything with ASS in the acronym .
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