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War in space?

THE US seems to have embarked upon a two-pronged strategy to revamp its vast military machine. The Pentagon has recommended closure of about 180 military installations, including 33 bases, and offices spread all over the country. Now, the air force is seeking President George Bush’s approval for free access to space, which means it could use space for deployment of weapons, if necessary.

If the draft proposals are accepted, the national security directive replaces a 1996 Bill Clinton policy, which stressed the peaceful uses of space, arms control and non-proliferation agreements.

The army and air force proposals come in the wake of Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld’s doctrine that the 21st century fighting force should be lean, mean and more mobile to meet the new demands of war. In 2001, Rumsfeld had proposed in a report that the president should have the option of deploying weapons in space. A year later, Bush pulled out of the 30-year-old Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty that banned weapons’ use from space.

Though the air force insists that it is not seeking militarisation of space, it wants to monopolise it so it can have "freedom to attack and freedom from attack" in space. In other words, what it means is the air force should have a free hand to deploy space-based weapons when the need arises. In fact, the Pentagon has already been geared up to meet such a challenge and is spending billions on research and development of such weapon systems.

The new policy, which is expected to be unveiled in the next few weeks, is bound to invite criticism from US allies and adversaries, particularly Russia and China, who may raise alarm bells that Washington is trying to run its diktat in space too. Though there is no law or treaty that bars Washington from deploying arms in space except weapons of mass destruction, the idea is fraught with dangers such as militarisation of space, one country taking undue advantage, potential misuse of ground-based control systems, and inherent dangers in safeguarding them. Besides, the cost involved in keeping a track of all the space-based gear is prohibitive. It is an unwritten law that nobody owns space and it is better left as it is.