Also...
"The exploration and use of outer space ... shall be carried out for the benefit and in the interests of all countries." – excerpt from the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, of which the USA is a signatory
"There is little hard evidence that any other country or hostile nonstate actor possesses either the technology or the intention to seriously threaten U.S. military or commercial assets in space." – Theresa Hitchens, Center for Defense Information 2003
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070122/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/us_china
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/20/opinion/20sat1.html
There has been fairly unanimous condemnation of China's recent successful test of an anti-satellite missile, leading some to worry about the consequences of a "space militarization" race in the 21st Century. Of course China claims peaceful intentions, but I’m sure it was a deterrent message to the West that Beijing has some nasty reprisals in store if the US or others decide to overstep their boundaries with North Korea, or come to Taiwan’s defense during a future conflict. Basically without satellite surveillance and communication, our espionage, reconnaissance, and military capabilities in East Asia would be severely compromised. However, China destroyed its own satellite, probably with a locator signal for the missile to track. It would probably be harder for China to target a foreign satellite with unknown electronic signature, and such a feat has never been attempted/accomplished by any state. Though I’m sure that Boeing, Raytheon, and the other death-peddlers are quickly preparing expensive proposals to the Department of Defense for on-board countermeasures for our space assets.
While none of us should be happy with China's supposed capacity to destroy our space assets from the ground, this is hypocrisy in its purest form. The Air Force has asked Bush to fund new research and tear down Clinton-era or Cold War safeguards to facilitate a new wave of space-based military projects. It’s sad when most nations (EU plus Russia and China even) are calling for demilitarized space while America is the sole dissenter. From the same people who brought us “Star Wars” that doesn’t even work after billions of dollars invested, now we have “Rods from God” that can potentially obliterate any target anywhere on the planet, within a few minutes of the launch order (so we have ultimate first-strike capability). Supposedly such a platform obeys the 1967 Outer Space Treaty because a giant space-launched heavy metal projectile careening towards Earth is “not a weapon of mass destruction”. Probably we already have the capacity to jam or neutralize foreign satellites, and lord-knows-what-else in the product pipeline. Once again, are the very efforts intended to enhance our security actually making us less safe?
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/03209/206343.stm
http://www.tompaine.com/articles/2005/06/15/the_folly_of_space_weapons.php
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/0518space-arms18.html
"If America doesn't weaponize space, an enemy will," according to Peter Teets, Undersecretary of the Air Force and director of the National Reconnaissance Office. That is the whole point of engaging other nations and ratifying treaties so this possibility doesn’t occur! If all the pork we waste on the Pentagon was redirected to USAID, State Department, and Foreign Service, I guarantee we’d be better off and the world a safer place. Remember, scientists just advanced the “Doomsday Clock” another tick towards midnight due to climate change, and space weapons might be the next tick (or last straw).
http://www.thebulletin.org/minutes-to-midnight
We have the most space assets and maintain a huge lead on satellite superiority, so we have he most to lose from a space race. Then why is the Bush Administration practically prodding other powers to challenge us? If we are so concerned about other countries hurting us from space, how do we think the rest of the world feels about our overwhelming dominance in the heavens? That being said, we shouldn’t be surprised if China or others try to gain a bit of leverage in response to our repeated belligerent provocations.
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