Fighting Islamic Extremism In Space

The Boston Globe reports on the effort to have Reagan's 'Star Wars' program brought out of retirement. Nevermind that the Soviets are gone and were fighting an enemy that relies on Toyotas loaded with C4 for its most destructive attacks.

The Pentagon is asking Congress for hundreds of millions of dollars to test weapons in space, marking the biggest step toward creating a space battlefield since President Reagan's long-defunct ''star wars" project during the Cold War, according to federal budget documents.

The Defense Department's budget proposal for the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1 includes money for a variety of tests on offensive and defensive weapons, including a missile launched at a small satellite in orbit, testing a small space vehicle that could disperse weapons while traveling at 20 times the speed of sound, and determining whether high-powered ground-based lasers can effectively destroy enemy satellites.

OK, that would all make sense if we were still fighting the soviets. It's important to disrupt the communication equipment (satellites) of the enemy. But Al-Qaeda doesn't have any communication satellites. And delivering weapons at 20 times the speed of sound is good and all, but I think that the B-2 bomber is enough of a technological advantage over the people currently trying to do harm to America.

In 2004, the Air Force published a paper outlining a long-term vision for space weapons, including an air-launched antisatellite missile, a ground-based laser aimed at low-earth orbit satellites, and a ''hypervelocity" weapon that could strike targets from space.

The paper stated that it is essential for the United States to deny its adversaries strategic access to space; success ''will require [the] full spectrum, sea, air, and space-based offensive counterspace systems" that the military can muster. The Pentagon has always examined space as a possible battleground, but the budget request marks a transition from laboratory theory to reality. And the Bush administration has sought to keep the military's options open despite international opposition to weapons in space

Great. Ignoring the fact that the Dear Leader has once again flouted international opinion, lets call this what it really is. This is nothing more than corporate welfare for the defense industry. The idea that billions of dollars that could be spent on new, lighter, better armor for our soldiers on the ground or more advanced detection equipment to protect our ports is being spent on space weapons is idiotic.

Bush Defense Department Space Weapons