Date: Sat, 12 May 2001 16:18:04 -0700
From: mikeh@cybertrails.com ("Michael Haggard")
Subject: [lpaz-repost] Fw: UFO UpDate: Space - A Military Priority
To: mchughs@cybertrails.com ("Fran McHugh"), lpaz-repost@yahoogroups.com ("lpaz-repost")
> Looks like Space has become a "military" priority... not to
> mention the role that former Admiral Bobby Inman, (ex-director
> of the National Security Agency (NSA), Deputy Director of the
> Central Intelligence Agency, Vice Director of the efense
> Intelligence Agency (DIA), and former Director of Naval
> Intelligence) plays as JPL Oversight Committee... the question
> needs to be asked - is space really "civilian" or "military"?
>
> http://www.cnn.com/2001/ALLPOLITICS/05/08/bush.space.ap/index.html
>
> http://www.enterprisemission.com/whosnasa.html
>
> Rumsfeld Moves To Strengthen Air Force Space Efforts. May 8,
> 2001.
>
> WASHINGTON (AP) - The Bush administration is moving to cement
> America's lead as a space-faring nation byputting more emphasis
> on its military programs in space and devoting a four-star
> general to the task. Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld,
> announcing a revamping of space-defense policies Tuesday, said
> America must "pay careful attention to protecting and promoting
> our interests in space."
>
> The Pentagon's space programs encompass a wide variety of
> activities, from satellites to detect and track ballistic
> missiles to military communications and intelligence-gathering
> efforts. "Space issues are complex and merit a renewed focus,"
> Rumsfeld said, adopting some of the recommendations of a
> commission he led before becoming defense secretary. He said the
> Air Force would become the lead service in coordinating space
> activities in the Defense Department. The changes, he said,
> "will help the U.S. to focus on meeting the national security
> space needs for 21st century." Rumsfeld outlined the changes in
> a letter to Congress and at a news conference.
>
> He said he would assign broader responsibilities to the Air
> Force Space Command, based at Colorado Springs, Colo., and put a
> four-star general in charge of providing the resources to
> execute space programs. He did not say who would fill the new
> post. Rumsfeld said he consulted with CIA Director George Tenet
> on the Pentagon's organizational changes and that Tenet
> concurred.
>
> "We can arrange the Department of Defense to focus on meeting
> the national security needs of the 21st century and sustain the
United States' position as the world's leading space-faring
> nation," Rumsfeld wrote. In the existing military structure, the
> Air Force general who is commander in chief of U.S. Space
> Command - currently Gen. Ralph E. Eberhart - also holds the
> positions of commander in chief of North American Aerospace
> Defense Command and the U.S. Air Force Space Command.
>
> Under Rumsfeld's plan, the Air Force Space Command job would be
> split off and made a separate four-star position. The Space
> Command apparently also would be given broader responsibilities,
> possibly including additional authority in the areas of
> acquisition, research and development. Rumsfeld wants more
> emphasis on organizing, unifying and strengthening the
> military's efforts in space operations and research. One aspect
> of this is likely to include the role of satellites in the
> missile defense system that President Bush has committed the
> nation to building. Another aspect may be protecting U.S.
> satellites against attack Until shortly after Bush nominated
> him in January, Rumsfeld was chairman of the Commission to
> Assess United States National Security Space Management and
> Organization. Created by Congress, the commission reported its
> findings and recommendations on Jan. 11 after six months of
> work. Rumsfeld resigned from the commission after his
> nomination. Congress required that once the commission submitted
> its report to the secretary of defense, he must inform Congress
> how he intended to respond.
>
> The upshot of the commission's report, which naturally reflected
> some of Rumsfeld's own views, was that defense and intelligence
> space programs are organized and managed in ways that fail to
> reflect the growing importance of space to U.S. national
> security. The commission said a lack of attention by the
> government to its satellites and space policy makes the United
> States "an attractive candidate for a space Pearl Harbor." The
> United States depends on space more than any other country _ for
> surveillance and other military operations, weather forecasts,
> cell phone connections - yet the White House, Congress and
> various government agencies fail to make space protection a top
> priority, the panel concluded. The commission also said military
> conflicts in space are inevitable. "We know from history that
> every medium - air, land and sea - has seen conflict," the
> commission's report said. "Reality indicates that space will be
> no different. Given this virtualcertainty, the United States
> must develop the means both to deter and to defend against
> hostile acts in and from space."
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