Posted on 03/29/2005 4:44:14 PM PST by neverdem
Arms Experts Worried at Pentagon Push for Superiority
Arms control advocates in the United States and abroad are expressing concern with the Bush administration's push for military superiority in space.
A series of Pentagon doctrinal papers, released over the past year, have emphasized that the U.S. military is increasingly dependent on space satellites for offensive and defensive operations, and must be able to protect them in times of war.
The Air Force in August put forward a Counterspace Operations Doctrine, which described "ways and means by which the Air Force achieves and maintains space superiority" and has worked to develop weapons to accomplish such missions.
On March 1, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld signed a new National Defense Strategy paper that said the use of space "enables us to project power anywhere in the world from secure bases of operation." A key goal of Rumsfeld's new strategy is "to ensure our access to and use of space and to deny hostile exploitation of space to adversaries."
The Pentagon is developing a suborbital space capsule that could hit targets anywhere in the world within two hours of being launched from U.S. bases. It also is developing systems that could attack potential enemy satellites, destroying them or temporarily preventing them from sending signals.
Michael Krepon, president emeritus of the Henry L. Stimson Center and an arms control official in the Clinton administration, said the United States is moving toward a national space doctrine that is "preemptive and proactive." He expects the Bush administration to produce a new National Space Policy statement soon that will contrast with the one adopted in 1996 by President Bill Clinton.
"We adopted the traditional U.S. position of being a reluctant space warrior," Krepon said of the Clinton position. "Space was to be used for peaceful purposes,...
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
Walter Pincus surfaces...
Good!
We can either secure our nation with the best military we can afford and suffer being called bad names, or we can feel good about ourselves while the Chinese and Russians overtake us.
We can either secure our nation with the best military we can afford and suffer being called bad names, or we can feel good about ourselves while the Chinese and Russians overtake us.
It is exactly the international arms control NGOs that are keeping us from our rightful place as private citizens in outer space.
Those who can, do. Those who can't aren't our problem.
Agreed!
Recluctant my ass.....they were a bunch of wussies.
I can see this guy stomping his foot as he said this..
Yes, space is the high ground, good job Bush admin. Now Save Hubble!
Above all else, Republicans will have the security/defense side of things. That's the main reason Bush won I'm convinced. The dems are still trying to sabotage us. clinton/carter's legacies are so incredibly damaging.
Forget Hubble......lets go to Mars....man flights in 5 years.
LOL! So can I. :-)
"Plans by U.S. to Dominate Space Raising Concerns"--for whom?
for liberals.
I swear he is the kind of person who will get us all killed.
These are the same liberal Clintonites who were reluctant to go to war over terrorism, and now they want us to wait until the "peaceful" Chinese get into a stronger position in space before we adopt an agressive space policy.
Sure I'll drive you buy, got a couple of trillion dollars for gas?
I disagree. The technology and the money would be better spent on robotic exploration of Mars for the moment. Lets get man back to the Moon first. The science we get from Hubble is priceless. Losing that will be a huge blow IMHO.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.