The
Washington Post has a very frightening article on Bush's new space-based defense policy. It is already well known that Bush and the DOD have been planning to develop spaced based defensive capabilities. What saddens and angers me is that Bush leaves no room for avoiding the next global arms race.
The Clinton policy also said that the United States would develop and operate "space control capabilities to ensure freedom of action in space" only when such steps would be "consistent with treaty obligations." The Bush policy accepts current international agreements but states: "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."
Instead of putting our energies into avoiding this next arms race, the Bush administration will actively seek to prevent any treaties that would limit this next level of human folly.
While the Clinton administration opened the door to space-based weapons systems his administration's approach was open to negotiation and recognized that space policy should be about more than just militiarizing space.
Bush's top goals are to "strengthen the nation's space leadership and ensure that space capabilities are available in time to further U.S. national security, homeland security, and foreign policy objectives" and to "enable unhindered U.S. operations in and through space to defend our interests there."
Clinton's top goals were to "enhance knowledge of the Earth, the solar system and the universe through human and robotic exploration" and to "strengthen and maintain the national security of the United States."
Unhindered operations in my mind is code for empire building. History's evidence is that such a goal is not sustainable. It will only further bankrupt and corrupt our nation.