article in Nexus
Envoi de Mark Servian le 15 Octobre 2003 17:59:37:
Space: The Final Frontier
by Mark Servian
Height is a precious commodity in warfare, so several hundred kilometres of
altitude is very handy to a general.
Near-Earth space is a valuable 'high ground' from which a military can
control the world below.
So it is no surprise then that the annexation of orbital space is a major
goal for the United States' military industrial complex.
October 4-11 is 'Keep Space for Peace Week', an annual international
consciousness-raising exercise called by the 'Global Network Against Weapons
& Nuclear Power in Space' (GN).
If you're concerned about the increasing concentration of power in the hands
of the remaining superpower, it is important to realise that the
militarisation of space is a key element of US aspirations.
Space was declared a demilitarised zone by a UN treaty in the 60s but that
status has become a fiction in recent years.
Russia's days as an operator of spy satellites are largely over, but Europe,
China, India, Israel and other nations are pursuing military space
technology.
But the primary space power is, of course, the US of A, and it has no
intention of allowing anyone to challenge its grip on the sky.
There are various ways by which the US military now uses space.
Firstly, and most disturbingly for those who support its space exploration
and research, NASA has lost any semblance of being a purely civilian
project.
All civilian shuttle flights in the last few years have been 'dual purpose',
with a military element, on top of the solely military missions that have
been happening since the program began.
Two of the astronauts on board Columbia's last flight, including the Israeli
Air Force officer, were engaged in military research.
NASA is also now pushing ahead with developing a nuclear rocket, ostensibly
to explore the outer planets, but also, conveniently, ideal for new military
space applications.
In 2002 the second Bush Administration abandoned the Anti-Ballistic Missile
treaty signed by the US and the Soviets in the early 70s, opening the way
for the expensive, faulty and partially space-based Missile Defence program.
The US military's latest orbital communication and positioning systems allow
broadband communications to be maintained with individual aircraft and
soldiers in the field.
Beginning with Kosovo, but more recently in Afghanistan and Iraq, the whole
command and control network supporting the US war effort has been run
through space.
And beginning with the Kosovo bombing campaign, the US has not shared its
spy satellite and global positioning system (GPS) intelligence with its NATO
allies.
As a result of this slight, the European Union has decided to proceed with
its own positioning system, 'Galileo', after France's President Jacques
Chirac said that to do otherwise would mean submitting to US "vassalage".
So America is starting an arms race in space with one of its own allies, but
their antics also risk antagonising its enemies and other nations around the
world.
For assets have to be protected, and as the US deploys more and more
critical systems to the heavens, the need to protect them becomes that much
greater.
Commercial and military satellites would make tempting targets for any
technically adept nation annoyed with US policy or behaviour.
China or India could easily decide they need to counter the cultural
imperialism beamed to their citizenry by Murdoch and Co and take down a TV
satellite.
As yet no one has officially deployed a weapon to space, either to defend
orbiting hardware or to attack the surface of the planet, though given the
high level of secrecy surrounding all nation's military space operations it
seems reasonable to surmise that something aggressive is already up there.
The US continues to research and develop space-based weapons with the clear
expectation that it will be able to publicly deploy them in the near future.
Donald Rumsfeld, George the Second's truly scary Defence Secretary, said
early in his tenure that the US was at risk of a "space Pearl Harbor" and
needed to strengthen its orbital defences.
Of course, the Don and his neo-con pals got the Pearl Harbour of their
dreams on September 11, which has really cranked up the spending on star
wars toys.
As New Zealanders, the number one thing we can do to oppose this madness is
to close down the US spy bases at Waihopai and Tangimoana, which are an
integral part of the US command, control and surveillance system.
To find out what the US military is up in its own words, check out 'Air
Force Space Command Strategic Master Plan FY04 and Beyond' put out by the
Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado.
http://www.peterson.af.mil/hqafspc/library/AFSPCPAOffice/Final%2004%20SMP--Signed!.pdf
To find out more about the militarisation of space, and events around the
world for 'Keep Space for Peace Week', check out the GN website.
http://www.space4peace.org.
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