Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Target Practice in the Final Frontier
The Washington Post ^ | February 4, 2007 | Michael Krepon

Posted on 02/04/2007 11:25:13 AM PST by Clintonfatigued

They warn us of approaching storms. They allow us to make emergency phone calls on mobile phones. They're the digital conveyor belt for global commerce. They help police and ambulances reach their destinations when every minute counts. And the Pentagon relies on them to provide U.S. forces with intelligence, communications and targeting information.

Satellites, it seems, have become our lifelines.

Still, it's easy to take satellites for granted -- easy, that is, until the People's Liberation Army crashes a missile into one of China's aging meteorological satellites, as it did last month. It was a crude show of strength, which the PLA will do on occasion when it wants to make a point. In 1995, for example, Beijing sent a fusillade of missiles in Taiwan's direction, a blunt reminder to think twice about independence. This time around, the PLA's message seemed directed at the Bush administration and the Air Force, which has adopted a "space control" doctrine that endorses the use of weapons in, from and through space.

The debris from China's missile blast could travel in space for much more than a quarter-century before burning up in the Earth's atmosphere. That's a long time, but not longer than the debate over weapons in space has raged, beginning with the launch of Sputnik in 1957. Having prying eyes overhead is unsettling enough, but it is not nearly so worrisome as weapons circling overhead, ready to fire.

What the Air Force euphemistically calls "offensive counter-space" capabilities -- use of the terms "space weapons" and "space dominance" is verboten -- does not have a broad constituency of support in the Pentagon or on Capitol Hill. The notion of turning space into one more war zone offends many sensibilities, from those of devout believers who don't think the heavens should be sullied by

(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...


TOPICS: Editorial; Foreign Affairs
KEYWORDS: lasers; loral; norad; outerspace; sattellites; space; starwars

1 posted on 02/04/2007 11:25:17 AM PST by Clintonfatigued
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

ping for future.


2 posted on 02/04/2007 11:27:44 AM PST by Jedi Master Pikachu ( WND, NewsMax, Townhall.com, Brietbart.com, and Drudge Report are not valid news sources.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Jedi Master Pikachu

"What the Air Force euphemistically calls "offensive counter-space" capabilities -- use of the terms "space weapons" and "space dominance" is verboten -- does not have a broad constituency of support in the Pentagon or on Capitol Hill."

Well not until two weeks ago. Now I would make it a campaign issue.


3 posted on 02/04/2007 11:30:17 AM PST by EQAndyBuzz (The Clintons: A Malignant Malfeasance of the Most Morbid)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: Clintonfatigued
Conflict has followed humans wherever they tread. It is only logical we will see it in space.

That said, I want US to be dominant, not those who do not have our best interests at heart.

4 posted on 02/04/2007 11:33:40 AM PST by Smokin' Joe (How often God must weep at humans' folly.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Smokin' Joe

"Only the dead have seen the end of war." G. Santayana ([falsely] attributed to Plato)


5 posted on 02/04/2007 11:52:50 AM PST by RKV ( He who has the guns, makes the rules.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

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.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson