Duncan Kunz
Joined: 19 Oct 2000
Posts: 582
|
Space-based "weapons"
 Mon Aug 06, 2001 3:59 pm
|
 |
|
If you think of a military spy as an enemy "soldier", then I guess you'd think of a spy satellite as a weapon. Given our need to acquire data on atmospherics and the earth's surface (to track pollution, forest fires, heavy concentrations of fish, icebergs, etc.) -- and given the fact that such imagery can easily be used to track other countries' military assets -- it would be just about impossible for anyone to say that these "peaceful" operations are not really being used for clandestine military intelligence gathering.
And how about weapons that actually do things besides just look?
I like the idea, and I can see why the Russians and the Chinese don't. Consider their capabilities:
The Russian Strategic Rocket Forces are falling apart, due to tat unfortunate country's slow implosion; their technology and infrastructure probably can't do the job of defending against incoming missiles of any kind (except maybe "Scud"-type attacks).
China, because of its own economic standing does not (yet) have the capability to provide a credible defensive capability either. We do.
I admit that a good defense can make a unilateral first strike more feasible, but we haven't yet done that (although Curtis LeMay really wanted to do so in 1962). If we don't rely on our military technology to level the playing field against potential adversaries with big populations and a record of recent aggression (cf. Chechnya, Tibet), we would either have to spend beaucoup bucks on a conventional force (can you say "re-instate the draft", boys and girls?) or take the real risk of being blackmailed by these same adversaries out of whatever national interests we have left in the world.
Don't get me wrong; I don't think we should be involved in all these police actions throughout the world. I don't think it's in our national interest to pick sides in the Balkans, the Middle East, or Somalia -- or even Cuba.
But we do have global national interests. As long as we do, we have to realize that there's going to be a Big Dog on the street; I'd rather have that Big Dog be us. Space-based weapons seem to be a pretty cost-effective way to do just that.
...not that I'm biased towards aerospace/defense issues, of course.
Regards,
------------------
Duncan Kunz / duncan.kunz@prodigy.net
Mesa AZ / 480-891-2525
[Edited 1 times, lastly by Duncan Kunz on 08-06-2001] |
Login
