-Caveat Lector- Air Force Gearing Up for Space Operations http://www.latimes.com/wires/wnational/20010209/tCB00a1158.html By JIM WOLF, Reuters WASHINGTON--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's 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. <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html <A HREF="http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html">Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED]</A> http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ <A HREF="http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/">ctrl</A> ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
