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SATELLITE INTERCEPT COULD CREATE 'OPEN SEASON' FOR TESTING
ANTI-SATELLITE WEAPONS
Bush Should Jump-Start Negotiations
to Ban Anti-Satellite Weapons
Representative Markey press release
21 FEB. 2008, WASHINGTON, D.C.–Representative Edward J. Markey (D-MA), a senior member
of the House Homeland Security Committee and the founder and co-chair of
the House Bipartisan Task Force on Nonproliferation, today criticized the Bush
administration for using a Navy missile to destroy a falling American spy
satellite.
"The geopolitical fallout of this intercept could be far greater than any
chemical fallout that would have resulted from the wayward satellite,"
Rep.
Markey said. "The Bush administration's decision to use a missile to
destroy
the satellite based on a questionable 'safety' justification poses a great
danger of signaling an 'open season' for other nations to test weapons for
use against our satellites. Russia and China are sure to view this
intercept
as proof that the United States is already pursuing an arms race in space,
and that they need to catch up."
"It is absolutely crucial that the Bush administration get serious about
preventing the weaponization of space and the development of
anti-satellite
weapons. The president should jump-start international negotiations to
create an international 'code of conduct' to prevent anti-satellite
weapons,
prevent the creation of dangerous space debris, and ensure access to
space.
President Bush needs to understand that since the United States relies so
much more heavily on space than other nations, we have that much more to
lose from a space arms race," Rep. Markey concluded.
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