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May 18, 2005
Star Wars, Coming Soon to a Planet Near You
That’s right. The Bush administration is moving to change U.S. policy in order to start deploying weapons into space.
The Air Force, saying it must secure space to protect the nation from attack, is seeking President Bush's approval of a national-security directive that could move the United States closer to fielding offensive and defensive space weapons, according to White House and Air Force officials.
The proposed change would be a substantial shift in American policy. It would almost certainly be opposed by many American allies and potential enemies, who have said it may create an arms race in space.
A senior administration official said that a new presidential directive would replace a 1996 Clinton administration policy that emphasized a more pacific use of space, including spy satellites' support for military operations, arms control and nonproliferation pacts.
Yeah. That’s just what the planet needs right now, a new arms race in space
“No one should be fooled,” said Theresa Hitchens, an expert on the militarization of space at the Washington-based Center for Defense Information.
“What you’re seeing is a reversal of the traditional U.S. reluctance to be space warriors. And that’s the meaning of this new policy,” Hitchens said in an interview.
...
Daryl Kimball, executive director of the Arms Control Association, said, “This is a military system that is unnecessary and provocative. It will lead other states to pursue military systems to knock out our space-based assets. The rationale of this program is to defend those assets. But this will have the reverse effect.”
Kimball said any move by the United States to start developing and testing space-based weapons will be met with very strong international condemnation, from foes and allies alike.
Well, at least, I hear “Revenge of the Sith” is good. Or, better than the other two prequels. Then again, those were just bad. Not “bad” as in bad, but just plain old bad. But I’m not sure I’m in the mood to see a movie where the punch line is forces of evil consolidating into a fascist empire.
Posted by zeynep at May 18, 2005 05:03 PM