| The sky losing the ground |
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Taking positions in space, without consolidating the ones on the ground, USA faces isolation and ground vulnerability at the expense of a monopoly in space. By 2008, when the skies will be full with “Brilliant Pebbles” and “Brilliant Eyes”, the USA space-sensors-interceptors, USA might have prompted inroads to the vulnerable portals of its ground defenses, national economy and cultural milieu.
Trajectories capable of carrying
conceptual or material loads have always been a source of concern. Those rising
from the launching pads of minds, carrying conceptual loads have never been
successfully intercepted, and have ultimately hit their targets even if
initially obstructed a number of times. However, those carrying material loads,
missiles in current terminology, nuclear or conventional, a source of true
concern, can be successfully intercepted and destroyed somewhere in their
course before they reach their target and this was successfully demonstrated
when on June, 13, 2002, Thursday, Pentagon report, a Raytheon- made Standard
Missile-32, fired from the cruiser USS Lake Eric intercepted an Aries Ballistic
Missile fired eight minutes earlier from Kauai, Hawaii. The interception of a
target at an altitude of 100 miles (160 km), established the capability of ALI
(Aegis Lightweight Expo-atmospheric Projectile Intercept) system.
It all began with the Nazi
Missile Program of World War-II, which included the development of
Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles. Taking the inspiration after the World
War-II, U.S.A. and Russia playing the cold war under the ashes of the two fiery
world engagements began to experiment and develop missiles. Foreseeing no end
to this program, both Russia and USA concluded, in 1972, the Anti Ballistic
Missiles Treaty, limiting the deployment of each country to two strategic sites
each. By early eighties, fearing that
Russia has acquired the first strike nuclear capability, the strategic analysts
convinced President Roland Reagan on developing missile defenses, this
resulted, in 1987, in the approval of the establishment of the Strategic
Defense System, SDS, this comprised of six major subsystems, including a
space-based interceptor, SBI, a ground-based interceptor, a ground-based
sensor, and two space-based sensors. Fear, triggered by the striking capability
of ASAT, Soviet Anti–Satellite Weapon, made USA to replace SBIs with an
interceptor concept called Brilliant Pebbles, now Soviet ASATs would have to
contend with thousands of interceptors orbiting the earth, small and hard to
find. A strategic development occurred with the invasion of Kuwait by Saddam
Hussein, in 1990 and the Operation Desert Storm by the USA and its allies
against Iraq, in 1991. The battleground witnessed for the first time
operational engagement between a ballistic missile and a missile defense
system. In 1991, President Bush announced GPALS, Global Protection Against
Limited Strikes, which had a ground-based National Missile Defense, NMD, a
ground-based Theater Missile Defense, TMD, and a Space-Based Global Defense,
and ultimately considering it an impediment, USA unilaterally withdrew from the
Anti Ballistic Missile treaty in 2001.
Not warranted, the desire to
monopolize the skies was however always there in the American mind. President
Lyndon Johnson noted, during Americas’ space race with Soviet Union, “Out in
space, there is the ultimate position-from which total control of the earth may
be exercised…Our national goal and the goal of all free men must be to win and
hold that position”. “Vision for 2020”, the report of the US Space Command
states, “Over the past several decades, space power has primarily supported
land, sea and air operations-strategically and operationally. During the early
portion of 21st century, space power will also evolve into a
separate and equal medium of warfare. Likewise, space forces will emerge to
protect military and commercial national interests and investment in the space
medium due to their increasing importance”, this is an important part of the
American dream to achieve total dominance in space, land, sea and air.
In the present highly integrated
world no decision is taken in isolation. It was never so even in the remote
past even when in external relations the concerns were limited to immediate
neighbors. External contingencies influenced domestic policies and domestic
agendas influenced external relations. The National Missile Defense program of
USA with Theatre Missile Defense System, its branch for USA allies, is not an
isolationist decision taken without any external consideration, rather, it is a
decision prompted by the development in the external world.
USA should reconsider the ground
realities and take into account its policies. As far as NMD is concerned it
should take as partners, Russia, China, Japan, EU, and other willing countries
of Asia and Middle East that would like to join, not the way USA has negotiated
with Czech and Poland to install the missile interceptor systems, with Russia
sounding concerns. The system should protect all the member countries from
accidental missile threats, and, against deliberate threats from rogue states.
People of the world too need protection as the people of the USA. If the needs
of other people are not taken into consideration, then the NMD will also meet
the fate of NPT, which lacking means for peace and being devoid of any moral or
humanitarian considerations for the peace of the people of the world, and in
the absence of an international system of justice available to all without
prejudice, became ineffective. Let the nuclear capability develop, because the
nuclear energy is the cheapest and its availability will strengthen the global
economy and benefit enormously the poor and energy starved people and states of
the world, however the vehicles to carry nuclear bombs, in case a rogue state
decides to build a bomb and use it on some other state, should be banned, of
these the ballistic missiles are the first to be taken care of and the
vehicles, air-craft carriers, the next. Without these the bombs, even if
somebody developed would be of no purpose and use.
In the broader context, NMD is a
result of weakness in USA foreign policy that has, over the past some decades
and especially after it began to ruthlessly pursue its imperialistic policy,
quite in contrast to its domestic agenda, which has freedom, tolerance, liberty
and mutual respect as its guiding principles, earned more enemies then friends.
USA, that was previously pursuing the policy of reaching out, to the strategic
geo-political countries, and earning cooperation and understanding of its
positions, is being, after miserably failing in these grounds, forced to
withdraw, like a tortoise to its own shell and adopt a policy of withdrawal and
defense aimed primarily at strengthening the domestic defense, domestic
economy, and domestic social structure.
US policy to turn into solid turf
the thin ice on which it is treading should chalk out a comprehensive
policy—democrats across the world should be strengthened—rights of
self-determination should be supported and resolved through UNO---status quo in
favor of the oppressors should be abandoned and people of the world should be
educated in peace and peaceful means—UNO should be given the major role in
global policy formation and USA should stop being the global marshal, which
creates and invokes unwarranted jealousies and antagonisms. U.N. teams should
survey, analyze and point out the existing and the potential conflicts,
economic, territorial, ethnic, religious, etc, in the world and U.N. should
form teams and forums for their resolution in time, to ensure a safe and
tolerant world in the future. If mutual respect and peace is not achieved and
the whole world becomes vulnerable to the missile defense and offence
strategies of the USA and its allies and satellite countries around the world, then
the USA should seriously consider, what will be the points of vulnerabilities
of USA that the opponent countries would like to explore.
(The writer, an ex-government servant, is presently the President of the South Asian Columnists Council, southasiancc.org He is the author of three books on social philosophy, two on english poetry, and one on international and national affairs. He writes on all aspects of the social millieu, but specializes in International and Economic Affairs.E.mail:mianakhlaqurrahman.gmail.com.Cell:0333-4633089.)
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