As George w. Bush tries to assure Vlad Putin that his anti-missile defence system is nothing for the Russians to worry about, Shrub's remarks are shelled hollow by Washington's flat refusal to entertain the idea of arms control for space. From Asia Times Online:
"Arms control is not a viable solution for space," a US State Department official told Space News on January 19. "For example, there is no agreement on how to define a space weapon. Without a definition, you are left with loopholes and meaningless limitations that endanger national security."
"Pentagon officials insist the US is not seeking to put weapons in orbit. Its space research, which is funneling billions of US dollars to aerospace contractors such as Lockheed Martin, is strictly for defense, they say.
"But arms-control experts suggest that this rhetoric has failed to assuage China's fears.
"'So many [missile] defensive capabilities have inherent offensive applications as well,' said Theresa Hitchens, a space-weapons expert at the Center for Defense Information, a think-tank based in Washington.
Bush's recently proclaimed National Space Policy states: "The US considers space capabilities vital to its national interests. The US will preserve its freedom of action in space [and will] dissuade or deter others from either impeding those rights, and take those actions necessary to protect its space capabilities."
"Hitchens said there is a more 'aggressive tone inherent in this policy' and that it 'rejects any limits on US actions in space'. She added: 'This strategy, this policy, more aggressively articulates a space warfighting strategy.'
For all his flaws, Putin isn't stupid and he knows Bush's assurances are utterly meaningless. There's plenty of ammunition in w.'s lies to start a Cold War. It's time the world told Bush to grow up.
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