You know what makes perfect sense in a world where space-age technology will determine who controls the "high ground" of the future?
Well, according to some Congressional Dems, we should destroy the military agency responsible for controlling the high ground!
Democratic Rep. Jared Huffman has introduced a bill that would disband the Space Force.
Cosponsored by other far-left Democrats such as Rashida Tlaib and Maxine Waters, the logic behind the bill is weak. Huffman says, "The long-standing neutrality of space has fostered a competitive, non-militarized age of exploration." He wants the new military branch to be enveloped back into the Air Force. This will allow the nation to "turn our attention back to where it belongs: addressing urgent domestic and international priorities like battling COVID-19, climate change, and growing economic inequality."
Before we even dive into this stupidity, I am obligated by sacred tradition to share this with you:
Rep. Huffman's argument is that we should just shuffle all of outer space off as a pet project of the Air Force while China is aiming to conquer orbit and the cosmos – you know, because of the weather and the 'Rona.
What he really means is that Space Force was created by ORANGE MAN BAD who was VERY orange and VERY bad, so it must be destroyed.
Washington Examiner writer Tom Rogan argues that this is insane.
China is building an array of stealth satellites with which to help conduct saturation ballistic missile attacks on U.S. aircraft carriers and military bases. Russia has deployed satellite-killer weapons which could destroy U.S. satellites, potentially blinding U.S. military forces and their link to commanders. Under the cover of a civilian satellite program, Iran is building ballistic missiles that it could use to deploy nuclear warheads. North Korea has built submarines capable of deploying nuclear-armed ballistic missiles. These concerns have nothing to do with "COVID-19, climate change, and growing economic inequality," but that doesn't mean they can be ignored. On the contrary, to ignore them would be to invite calamity. If adversaries are seizing the initiative to turn space to their own military advantages, the U.S. must do the same.
Whoever controls orbit controls the planet.
It's that simple.
My father served for years in the Air Force, maintaining the electronics in F-16s. Airmen like him, especially those who served when the USSR was still around, overwhelmingly see the need for us to take the fight to space.
If America allows China to put up a bunch of stealth satellites and weapon's systems a few hundred miles over our heads, they own us. China could care less about how dedicated we are to "inclusivity" and "climate" when they have a gun pointed to the head of the planet.
The establishment of the Space Force has allowed for a specific professional service dedicated to space. This enables the more effective use of relevant capabilities and a more efficient means by which to serve government policy. The complexity of space-related missions requires a force solely dedicated to them. The Air Force's prior handling of space as just one subset of its broader mission set meant that inadequate focus and skills were applied to the domain. Considering the stakes involved in space-related security, the Space Force's $18 billion budget is a good deal. Moreover, the Air Force should accrue savings as it transfers capabilities and responsibilities to the new service.
If we have learned one thing over the past year, it's the ineptitude of government agencies, even in the military [see: Afghanistan]. That's especially true when those agencies try to create programs and policy outside their main focus [see: the CDC].
Remember that the Spanish Empire was once the largest in the world. All it took was the mastery of triangular sails and new, faster hull designs for the British and French navies to destroy their hold and change the course of history.
