Use of force will be used to defend space assets

Bill Gertz:

The United States will use military force in space to protect satellites and other space systems from attack by hostile states or terrorists, the Bush administration's senior arms-control official said yesterday.
Robert Joseph, undersecretary of state for arms control and international security, said in a speech outlining a new White House space policy that free access to space is a "vital" U.S. interest and that the Bush administration opposes new agreements that would limit U.S. space defenses.
"To ensure free access to space ... we must continue to develop a full range of options to deter and defend against threats to our space infrastructure," Mr. Joseph said in a speech to the George C. Marshall Institute, a private think tank.
The United States will "oppose others who wish to use their military capabilities to impede or deny our access to and use of space," he said. "We will seek the best capabilities to protect our space assets by active or passive means."
"No nation, no non-state actor, should be under the illusion that the United States will tolerate a denial of our right to the use of space for peaceful purposes," he said. "We reserve the right to defend ourselves against hostile attacks and interference with our space assets," he said.
U.S. officials said the comments are an indirect warning to China, which has fired a ground-based laser gun at a U.S. satellite that passed over its territory -- an event viewed as one sign of Beijing's efforts to develop space arms that can blind or destroy systems.
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Surveillance and communications in the military are too important to permit enemies to interfere with. It will be interesting to see if the Democrats think it is unfair for us to protect our spy satellites. Who knows if the NSA is listening to enemy communications with its agents in the US. Eek!