All's Fair in Space War

[zavvy]

<b>All's Fair in Space War</b><br /><br />LINK<br /><br />The American military has begun planning for combat in space, an Air Force report reveals. And commercial spacecraft, neutral countries' launching pads -- even weather satellites -- are all on the potential target list. <br /><br />"Air Force Doctrine Document 2-2.1: Counterspace Operations" is an apparent first cut at detailing how U.S. forces might take out an enemy's space capabilities -- and protect America's eyes and ears in orbit. Signed by Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. John Jumper, the unclassified report sketches out who would be in command during a space fight, what American weapons would be used and which targets might be attacked. <br /><br />In that way, the report is similar to hundreds of others in the Pentagon's archives. But buried in the report's acronyms and org charts are two striking sentiments, analysts say. First, the document declares that the U.S. Air Force is duty-bound to slap down other countries' space efforts, should the need arise. Then, Counterspace Operations declares that a satellite or ground-control station doesn't have to belong to one of America's enemies in order to get hit. <br /><br />"You could be inflicting large costs on a company or country that has no role in a war. And that introduces great possibilities for backlash and political fallout," warned Theresea Hitchens, vice president of the Center for Defense Information. "You could wind up damaging the capabilities of our allies -- or even ourselves." <br /><br />But the Air Force may not have much of a choice, really. Nearly all the world's militaries -- including America's -- rely on private companies' satellites for relaying messages, taking pictures or guiding bombs. During the Iraq invasion, for example, commercial orbiters carried 80 percent of U.S. forces' satellite communications. <br /><br />In the opening pages of Counterspace Operations,

 

[arobie]

<img src="/images/icons/frown.gif" /> I whole heartedly disagree that the military should move into space. <img src="/images/icons/mad.gif" /><br /><br /><font color="yellow">Next year's proposed budget for Counterspace Systems was slashed by nearly two-thirds...</font><br /><br />That's a good thing.

 

[mcbethcg]

The military ought to go where ever they are needed to win a war. We can't risk losing a war because someone thinks space ought to be sancrosanct. If anything, space is the absolutely best place for a war- there aren't people there, and there is no environment to damage.