Why Not Ban Weapons Everywhere Except In Space?
Whenever I hear of plans to ban weapons in space, such as Obama’s latest, that question pops into my mind. Not because banning weapons everwhere except in space is possible, but because asking the question illuminates the issue. Suppose, for the sake of argument, that you could ban weapons in space, or everywhere except in space, but not both. Which would you choose? Most of us would choose the first. Any war in space would be fought mostly by robots. Any casualties would be to a few highly-paid military men. The United States and our democratic allies will have, if we want, a great advantage over our enemies, for the foreseeable future. That imaginary scenario strikes me as far more desirable than our present reality, in which wars are fought everywhere except space. Even the Reuters reporter realizes that there are practical difficulties with Obama’s proposal. Any satellite that can maneuver — and I gather that all, or nearly all, modern satellites can — can be used as a weapon, can
