- WASHINGTON - The United
States
soon must be able to make war in space, Air Force Chief of Staff Michael
Ryan said Wednesday, because there will be too much to lose if it
doesn't.
-
- "If our dependence on orbital capability
(satellites)
continues to grow at the rate it has over the last 20 years," said
Ryan, "we will have a huge equity on orbit ... and should we lose
them, it would be a huge blow. We have to be able to protect those assets,
at least defensively."
-
- Eventually, he concluded, "We are going to have
to have the capability to take things out (destroy them) in space ... we
ought to have that capability" both offensively and
defensively.
-
- Ryan acknowledged a debate would be heated over making
space a potential battleground. But he said space already is a military
road, because intercontinental ballistic missiles move into and out of
space during flight.
-
- Going into space with the military would only be natural,
he said, because U.S. forces have followed U.S. commerce throughout
history.
-
- Ryan, who will retire this year, predicted the successful
test of a laser weapon that can knock down ballistic missiles -- likely
to occur in 2003 -- probably would get a "huge reaction" and
trigger the space debate.
-
-
-
-
-
- MainPage
http://www.rense.com
-
-
-
- This
Site Served by TheHostPros
|