----- Original Message ----- From: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Cc: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Thursday, January 11, 2001 8:27 PM Subject: STRATFOR: Space Race Escalating [STOPNATO.ORG.UK] STOP NATO: NO PASARAN! - HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK Stratfor has factual info albeit a far right bent on occasion) Escalating Space Race Summary The global economy's growing dependence on space technology is reigniting the debate over the military's function in space, particularly its role in denying enemies the ability to use the ultimate high ground for nefarious purposes. Stimulated by the new political leadership emerging in the United States, the escalating space race will turn the final frontier into a new battleground in the 21st century. Analysis On Jan. 11 the Commission to Assess U.S. National Security Space Management and Organization is to release its findings after more than a year of study. Established by members of Congress concerned that preparations for the space age are inadequate, the commission has the potential to forcefully and immediately impact American policy. The commission was led by Donald Rumsfeld, President-elect George W. Bush's nominee for secretary of defense, who has pledged to make the "defense of space assets" a top priority. The commission will find the new U.S. administration highly receptive to accelerating the space race with military projects and government-assisted programs for civilian purposes. The trend toward a larger international presence in space, and the associated risks that come with heavy reliance on space systems, has moved the United States closer than ever - both politically and technologically - to crossing the boundary between using space to support military operations and making space a combat zone. The incoming U.S. administration, and its unfolding world view, will run right up against this sacrosanct boundary in international relations and may even cross it, irreversibly altering the strategic landscape. Reliance on space for communications, navigation, reconnaissance, weather prediction and a host of other disciplines is growing by leaps and bounds, fueling billions of dollars in investment around the world - $100 billion in investment by the United States alone. At least 1,500 new satellites will be launched internationally over the next decade to add to the estimated 600 now in orbit. Many advances in space technology are now being spearheaded outside the United States. The United States has developed only one new booster rocket in the last 20 years, while Russia has developed and tested more than 140. In other areas, such as the satellite surveillance and space exploration, countries like Russia, China, Japan and India are doing a good job of keeping pace with the United States. China, for example, plans this year to place a human in orbit for the first time and recently launched a high-resolution commercial imaging satellite. Japan, meanwhile, has embarked on a satellite reconnaissance program of its own that will give its military greater autonomy from the United States. This highly competitive environment in the space industry has coincided with - and at the same time fueled - growing American military anxiety that new technologies becoming widely available will seriously endanger space operations. This includes anti-satellite laser weapons and new computer tools to disrupt or corrupt satellite data. Russia is believed to have developed anti-satellite weapons, while China is said to be aggressively pursuing them. The United States will redouble its efforts to develop anti-satellite weapons as Russia and China's space programs grow. "Protecting our ability to launch and operate satellites - and denying an enemy the same ability - could be pivotal to the success of future U.S. military operations," according to the U.S. Space Command mission statement. "The increasing reliance of joint forces on space means we must achieve space superiority in times of conflict. Likewise, we must be able to preserve civil and commercial access to space." The space commission's report is likely to call for enhancing satellite defenses and space control capabilities. It may call for renewed testing of the Mid Range Advanced Chemical Laser, a ground-based anti-satellite weapon that has not been tested in several years. When tested in 1997, domestic and foreign criticism was widespread. Russian President Boris Yeltsin personally intervened to try and stop the tests, warning against the danger of weaponizing space. The commission will probably also recommend some structural changes within the military, including tapping the Air Force as the "executive agent" for space operations. The commission had even considered establishing a separate Space Force or Space Corps of 30,000 troops, but that proposal appears to have been shelved as too controversial. The commission is less likely to recommend deploying offensive weapons in space, but some concrete steps in that direction will at least be on the table as Rumsfeld moves into his Pentagon office. One of these steps might be to accelerate research on a so-called Space Based Laser. The Pentagon recently cut a check for a $100 million to conduct a flight test of a subscale vehicle designed to house a high-powered laser to attack missiles and other targets from space. The 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty prohibits the United States from deploying laser weapons in space; however, Bush has said he will either change or scrap the treaty with Russia to deploy the proposed nationwide missile shield. Bush has also pledged to develop a more comprehensive missile defense, possibly including weapons deployed in space. Specifics aside, what is clear is that the Bush national security team will have an early blueprint, provided by one of its most veteran and influential members, for how the military should proceed in outer space. And the watchwords of the blueprint will no doubt include space "control" and "dominance." The weaponization of space may be inevitable. However, fierce international competition in commercial and military space ventures, combined with a U.S. administration seeking to prevail over all other comers, is placing the space race on a collision course with the point of no return: warfare in space. With a secretary of defense intellectually inclined to up the ante in space, the United States is set to preside over the countdown and possibly the blastoff. --------------------------- ListBot Sponsor -------------------------- Dial 800-555-TELL. Instant updates - One free call. Sports, stocks, driving directions...& much more! http://www.bcentral.com/listbot/tellme1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- + Please support: http://www.antiwar.com and http://www.space4peace.org Deo Gratias + ================= + =============== ______________________________________________________________________ To unsubscribe, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
