[NukeNet] Bush Opens Outer Space To War

[Bill Smirnow]

  Distributed by MinutemanMedia
http://www.opedresource.com/INDEX.htm
710 Words
OCTOBER 25, 2006


BUSH OPENS OUTER SPACE TO COMBAT - by Karl
Grossman


It was issued quietly: 5 p.m. on the Friday before
the long Columbus Day weekend, a release seemingly
designed to get little notice. But what it
involved deserves major attention: a new U.S.
National Space Policy that could set the stage for
the heavens being turned into a battleground.

For decades, the Outer Space Treaty of 1967 has
shaped how nations approach space. Developed by
the United States, United Kingdom and Soviet
Union­and now ratified essentially by all the
world's countries­the landmark agreement sets
space aside for peaceful purposes.

But the United States became uncomfortable with
the treaty in the 1980s during President Ronald
Reagan's "Star Wars" program. That discomfort was
marked in the 1990s by U.S. opposition to efforts
(still ongoing) led by Canada­and including Russia
and China­to ban all weapons in space; the treaty
only bans weapons of mass destruction.

There were bellicose declarations in the 1990s,
too, from the U.S. Space Command speaking of
"dominating the space dimension of military
operations to protest U.S. interests and
investment."

Moreover, as George W. Bush took office, a
commission chaired by his defense secretary-to-be,
Donald Rumsfeld, spoke of how "in the coming
period the U.S. will conduct operations to, from,
in, and through space to support its national
interests."

Then the Bush administration began revising the
U.S. National Space Policy as issued by President
Bill Clinton. A front-page, lead article in "The
New York Times" last year reported that the U.S.
Air Force was "seeking President Bush's approval
of a national-security directive that could move
the United States closer to fielding offensive and
defense space weapons." It told of how one "Air
Force space program, nicknamed Rods from God, aims
to hurl cylinders of tungsten, titanium or uranium
from the edge of space to destroy targets on the
ground striking at speeds of about 7,200 miles an
hour with the force of a small nuclear weapon."

The new policy does not explicitly declare the
United States will now move ahead with such space
weapons­ but it opens the door.

"Freedom of action in space is as important to the
United States as air power and sea power," it
asserts in its introduction. Under "National
Security Space Guidelines," it says, "United
States national security is critically dependent
upon space capabilities, and this dependence will
grow." So the United States will "develop and
deploy space capabilities that sustain U.S.
advantage."

Also, the 10-page policy says the United States
"will oppose the development of new legal regimes
or other restrictions that seek to prohibit or
limit U.S. access to or use of space."

Further, the policy authorizes the use of nuclear
power overhead to "enhance space exploration or
operational capabilities.The use of space nuclear
power systems shall be consistent with U.S.
national and homeland security, and foreign policy
interests."

Bruce Gagnon, coordinator of the Global Network
Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space, speaks
of the document's "very provocative language.This
is the kind of talk that will create a new arms
race in space, clearly just what the
military-industrial complex wants."  And, he says,
"Bush's new space policy enshrines the rejection
of an international treaty to ban weapons in
space."

The vision of the Outer Space Treaty­to set aside
space as a global commons and to prevent the armed
conflict that has marked human history on Earth
from extending into the heavens­would be altered
by the new U.S. policy.

The United States sees its potential military
supremacy in space ­and seeks to take advantage of
this. But that's similar to the U.S. attitude in
1945 when we had the atomic bomb and no one else
did. It will not take long if space is opened up
to war for other nations, notably Russia and
China, to meet the United States in kind. We still
have an opportunity now to adhere to and
strengthen the Outer Space Treaty and, with
verification, continue to keep space for peaceful
purposes.

Or we can turn the heavens into a war zone and a
place for nuclear activity. We are at a
crossroads. The policy must not be slipped through
quietly. The people of the United States must have
a voice and there should be wide public discussion
on this fateful decision.

-

Karl Grossman, journalism professor at the State
University of New York/College at Old Westbury,
wrote and narrated the award-winning TV
documentary: "Weapons in Space: The Nuclearization
and Weaponization of the Heavens"
(www.envirovideo.com) - A photo of Karl Grossman
is available CLICK HERE


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