New U.S. intelligence that Washington has shared with our allies and Congress points to a dramatic potential escalation by Russia in its space-based weaponry.
Few details on the exact nature of the Russian space threat have been released. On Wednesday, PJ Media's Michael Cantrell covered the cryptic announcement by House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence Chairman Mike Turner about a "serious national security threat" and asked the White House to declassify the intelligence immediately.
The White House says the threat is not "imminent," and sources are only discussing the intel on deep background. Nevertheless, it's a significant upgrade to Russian capabilities in outer space and while the threat is not immediate, the window to do something about it is closing,.
The weapon would have the capability of wiping out any number of communications satellites, both civilian and military. In the event of war, such a weapon could facilitate a first strike by Russia, blinding us to the threat until it is too late. Some military plans call for a U.S. strike in the event our satellite network is significantly disrupted.
In a note to members of Congress, the Intelligence Committee said the new intel is about a “destabilizing foreign military capability.” This led to calls to declassify some of the intelligence for members of Congress.
At the moment, the U.S. has no counter-anti-satellite system to the weapon, leaving our communications networks vulnerable.
Some observers on Capitol Hill question Chairman Turner's motives for asking for the release of the intelligence. Some members who oppose aid to Ukraine see Turner's announcement as a ploy to get the House to take up the aid package.
Concerns about placing nuclear weapons in space go back 50 years; it was even a sub-theme of “Star Trek” episodes in the late 1960s, just as the treaty was coming into effect. The United States experimented with versions of the technology but never deployed them. Russia has been developing its space-based capabilities for decades.
U.S. military officials have warned that both Russia and China are moving toward greater militarization of space, as all three superpowers work on ways to blind the others.
A report released last year, highlighted Russia’s development of weapons to blind other satellites but noted that Russia had refrained from using the full range of antisatellite capabilities it had developed.
The White House is reportedly angry with Turner for leaking the intel. But would we have heard about it otherwise? Russia must be pretty close to deploying the weapon if the U.S. has informed our allies and members of Congress about it. I doubt whether Biden would have made the information public before the election.
Putting nukes in space is a violation of the 1967 Outer Space Treaty. Russian President Vladimir Putin has violated space treaties before, so it's not surprising he would break the most significant space treaty ever negotiated.
Mr. Turner’s statement, and his decision to share the information with others in Congress, set Washington abuzz on Wednesday about what the intelligence was.
But the statement infuriated White House officials, who feared the loss of important sources of information on Russia. While Mr. Turner has been an ally to the White House on Ukraine aid, his remarks on Wednesday became the latest flashpoint in strained relations between the Biden administration and congressional Republicans.
The intelligence was developed in recent days, and while it is important, officials said it was not a break-the-glass kind of warning of any imminent threat. But Mr. Turner urged its release.
Putin is escalating because he's sure there will be no pushback from the United States. I feel a "strongly worded letter" to Moscow is coming.
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