----- Original Message -----
From: Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Saturday, February 10, 2001 11:13 PM
Subject: RUMSFELD COMMISSION: SPACE WAR 'VIRTUAL CERTAINTY'
'Virtual certainty' of future hostile action in space
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20010209/ts/arms_space_dc_2.html
Friday, February 9 5:38 AM ET
Air Force Gearing Up for Space Operations
by Jim Wolf
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Air Force embraced a report that cited the
``virtual certainty´´ of future hostile action in space and said it
was moving forward with plans to boost U.S. military strength in the
heavens.
Donald Rumsfeld headed the congressionally mandated commission that
issued the report, although he stepped down from the commission post
after being tapped to become President George W. Bush defense secretary.
``The Air Force strongly supports the space commission report and is
already moving to implement many of (its) recommendations,´´ said
Maj. Gen. Brian Arnold, director of space and nuclear deterrence in the
Air Force secretary´s acquisitions office.
He said Thursday that the service was working with Stephen Cambone, a
top Rumsfeld aide, to align the space programs of the Air Force and the
National Reconnaissance Office, the Pentagon arm that develops and manages
U.S. spy satellites, and make other organizational and management changes.
Before moving to the Pentagon with Rumsfeld, Cambone served as staff
director of the space commission, which urged that space be recognized
as a ``top national security priority.´´
``We know from history that every medium -- air, land and sea -- has
seen conflict. Reality indicates that space will be no different,´´
the commission said in the Jan. 11 report to Congress. ``Given this
virtual certainty, the U.S. must develop the means to both deter and
defend against hostile acts in and from space,´´ it said. ``This
will require superior space capabilities.´´
The panel said the U.S. government should make sure the president ``will
have the option to deploy weapons in space to deter threats to and, if
necessary, defend against attacks on U.S. interests.´´
Pentagon spokeswoman Susan Hansen said Rumsfeld himself had not yet
officially acted on the recommendations of his own commission´s
report. ``The internal review is ongoing,´´ she said, with a goal of
advising Congress within 90 days of the submission of the report.
Build ``Critical Mass´´
Arnold, at an Alexandria, Virginia conference on aerospace power, said a
key Air Force goal was to build the ``critical mass´´ for getting
the highest levels of government to focus on military space policy. The
Air Force will seek to resurrect a program to test a space-based radar
aimed at giving a sharper view of enemy territory, potentially a
multibillion-dollar effort, he told Reuters after addressing the
conference.
Congress killed the program last year, citing cost concerns. Among the
contractors involved are Lockheed Martin Corp. and Boeing Co.
At the conference, Arnold cited the outcome of the first U.S. war games
based on the possibility of war in space as evidence of the importance
of developing an effective military presence in space.
The war games were played out last month at Schriever Air Force Base
outside Colorado Springs, Colorado.
The classified games, set in 2017, demonstrated that a robust U.S. space
presence provides a stable, permanent peacekeeping capability as well as
the potential for an early deterrent strike, Arnold said.
One assumption was that the heavens will be loaded with weapons,
including small satellites that can maneuver against other satellites to
blind them or disable them.
The war games showed that a robust U.S. military presence in space was
``much more stabilizing´´ than a weaker U.S. presence, Arnold said.
--
Copyright © 2001 Yahoo! Inc., and Reuters Limited. All rights
reserved.
Bruce K. Gagnon
Coordinator
Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space
PO Box 90083
Gainesville, Fl. 32607
(352) 337-9274
http://www.space4peace.org
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
