Dana Gold
05-20-05, 04:38 PM
I was going through some science news wherein some scientists were warning the US gov't of establishing WMD in outer speace....sounded bizarre, almost fantastical.....until I found many news stories to the same.....2 below......the "Rods from God" program was a chilling thing.
Excerpts from link below:
PRESIDENT BUSH is preparing a shift in US space policy that could pave the way for the deployment of offensive and defensive weapons beyond the Earth’s atmosphere.
It would overturn a 1996 directive signed by President Clinton, which drew the line at using satellites to support military operations, arms control and non-proliferation pacts.
Others at the planning stage are more aggressive, according to The New York Times. The Global Strike programme envisages a military spacecraft carrying precision-guided weapons capable of striking halfway round the world in 45 minutes. Pentagon chiefs have told Congress that it would offer US commanders “an incredible capability”, allowing them to destroy centres or missile bases around the world.
Another USAF programme is the “Rods from God”, in which cylinders of tungsten, titanium or uranium would be launched from space to strike ground targets at speeds of 7,200mph.
Donald Rumsfeld, the US Defence Secretary, promoted this new phase in space weapons in 2001 when a commission that he headed recommended that the Pentagon “ensure that the President will have the option to deploy weapons in space”. Three years later the USAF believes that it has done the planning necessary to move to the next stage.
One of the most controversial acts of the early Bush presidency has helped to clear the way. Under the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty between the United States and the Soviet Union, Washington and Moscow agreed not to place weapons in space. Mr Bush unilaterally withdrew from the treaty to allow the Pentagon to pursue the missile defence umbrella first championed by President
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,11069-1618255,00.html
Another:
http://www.abc.net.au/worldtoday/content/2005/s1372309.htm
Excerpts from link below:
Russia Warns U.S. Against Un
leashing Arms Race in Space
Russia would consider using force if the U.S. put a combat weapon into space, a senior Russian official in Washington has said.
Defying protests by Russia, China and many other U.S. allies, the Bush administration plans to implement a new space policy that would move the U.S. closer to placing offensive and defensive weapons in space, The New York Times reported Wednesday.
Vladimir Yermakov, senior counsellor at the Russian Embassy in Washington, on Tuesday told a conference on space militarization that Russia was working through diplomatic channels to urge the U.S. not to move towards fielding weapons in space, The Financial Times reported Thursday.
But he said Russia would have to react, possibly with force, if the U.S. successfully put a “combat weapon” in space.
The White House denied that President George W. Bush was about to sign a new directive on space policy that would permit the placing of weapons in space.
“The U.S. has no intention to weaponize [space],” said a senior administration official. “The policy review was not initiated at the request of the air force or the department of defense, and the policy, while not yet finalized, would not represent a substantial shift in American policy.”
Any new policy would replace a 1996 policy implemented by the Clinton administration calling for a less militaristic approach to space. The 1967 treaty on outer space prevents countries from putting only weapons of mass destruction in space. Other countries are concerned that some of the weapons being considered by the U.S. could be considered new types of WMD.
http://www.mosnews.com/news/2005/05/19/armsrace.shtml
:stormy: :umno:
Excerpts from link below:
PRESIDENT BUSH is preparing a shift in US space policy that could pave the way for the deployment of offensive and defensive weapons beyond the Earth’s atmosphere.
It would overturn a 1996 directive signed by President Clinton, which drew the line at using satellites to support military operations, arms control and non-proliferation pacts.
Others at the planning stage are more aggressive, according to The New York Times. The Global Strike programme envisages a military spacecraft carrying precision-guided weapons capable of striking halfway round the world in 45 minutes. Pentagon chiefs have told Congress that it would offer US commanders “an incredible capability”, allowing them to destroy centres or missile bases around the world.
Another USAF programme is the “Rods from God”, in which cylinders of tungsten, titanium or uranium would be launched from space to strike ground targets at speeds of 7,200mph.
Donald Rumsfeld, the US Defence Secretary, promoted this new phase in space weapons in 2001 when a commission that he headed recommended that the Pentagon “ensure that the President will have the option to deploy weapons in space”. Three years later the USAF believes that it has done the planning necessary to move to the next stage.
One of the most controversial acts of the early Bush presidency has helped to clear the way. Under the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty between the United States and the Soviet Union, Washington and Moscow agreed not to place weapons in space. Mr Bush unilaterally withdrew from the treaty to allow the Pentagon to pursue the missile defence umbrella first championed by President
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,11069-1618255,00.html
Another:
http://www.abc.net.au/worldtoday/content/2005/s1372309.htm
Excerpts from link below:
Russia Warns U.S. Against Un
leashing Arms Race in Space
Russia would consider using force if the U.S. put a combat weapon into space, a senior Russian official in Washington has said.
Defying protests by Russia, China and many other U.S. allies, the Bush administration plans to implement a new space policy that would move the U.S. closer to placing offensive and defensive weapons in space, The New York Times reported Wednesday.
Vladimir Yermakov, senior counsellor at the Russian Embassy in Washington, on Tuesday told a conference on space militarization that Russia was working through diplomatic channels to urge the U.S. not to move towards fielding weapons in space, The Financial Times reported Thursday.
But he said Russia would have to react, possibly with force, if the U.S. successfully put a “combat weapon” in space.
The White House denied that President George W. Bush was about to sign a new directive on space policy that would permit the placing of weapons in space.
“The U.S. has no intention to weaponize [space],” said a senior administration official. “The policy review was not initiated at the request of the air force or the department of defense, and the policy, while not yet finalized, would not represent a substantial shift in American policy.”
Any new policy would replace a 1996 policy implemented by the Clinton administration calling for a less militaristic approach to space. The 1967 treaty on outer space prevents countries from putting only weapons of mass destruction in space. Other countries are concerned that some of the weapons being considered by the U.S. could be considered new types of WMD.
http://www.mosnews.com/news/2005/05/19/armsrace.shtml
:stormy: :umno: