Mattis: US needs Space Force to counter Russia, China

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Mattis: US needs Space Force to counter Russia, China  A U.S. Space Force is necessary to protect American satellites from being targeted by attack weapons in the hands of China and Russia, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said Tuesday. Mattis'comments came days after Vice President Mike Pence announced ambitious plans to create a sixth, separate U.S. military warfighting service by 2020 to ensure American dominance in space. Speaking during a trip to Brazil, Mattis said repeatedly that the U.S. has no plans to put weapons in space, but he emphasized the vital and growing role that satellites play not just in military operations but in the world economy.  He recalled China's use of a ground-based missile to destroy one of its own nonfunctional weather satellites in January 2007, which he suggested was a calculated demonstration to the United States of Chinese capabilities. "We understand the message that China was sending — that they could take out a satellite in space," Mattis said in remarks to about 270 military officers and civilians at Brazil's premier war college. "Since then our intelligence services have watched other nations, including Russia, develop a space attack capability." He was responding to a question from an audience member who expressed concern that the planned Space Force could lead to an international arms race in space. Mattis said the U.S. cannot ignore potential threats to satellites that are crucial to communication, navigation, weather information and other underpinnings of modern life. "So this is a reality," he said. "We are not initiating this. We are saying we will be able to defend our satellites in space. At the same time, if someone is going to try to engage in space with military means, we will not stand idly by. We don't intend to militarize space. However, we will defend ourselves in space if necessary." He did not say this meant the U.S. would respond to a satellite attack by attacking the aggressor's satellites or with any other use of force. But that scenario is one that worries many who have warned that space could become the next global battlefield. The U.S. military has worked on anti-satellite weaponry in the past but has no deployed weapon dedicated to that mission today. Asked later to elaborate on how the U.S. would respond to an attack on a satellite, Mattis said he preferred to maintain ambiguity. "I don't tell adversaries in advance what we will do or what we will not do," he said. "We will not stand idly by if someone tried to deny us the use of space." He added: "I wouldn't read anything more into" his comments. Mattis' point about countering the space capabilities of other nations was reinforced Tuesday by the State Department's top arms control official, Yleem Poblete, speaking in Geneva at the U.N. Conference on Disarmament. She said that despite Russian claims it wants to prevent an arms race in outer space, Moscow is developing new anti-satellite missiles and has given its forces a mobile laser system. She also voiced suspicion about Russia's deployment last October of a satellite whose behavior she said was inconsistent with its supposed purpose of conducting in-orbit space inspections.  "Russian intentions with respect to this satellite are unclear and are obviously a very troubling development," Poblete said. Russia denies any hostile intent.  The timing of Mattis' visit to Brazil, so soon after Pence announced the Space Force plan last Thursday, was coincidental. Mattis' trip, which includes follow-on stops in Argentina, Chile and Colombia, had been in planning for many months. In a speech prior to fielding questions from the war college students, Mattis made a detailed pitch for closer U.S.-Brazilian security relations. He noted that Brazil was an ally during World War II; later he visited a monument in Rio to Brazil's role in the conflict. He emphasized U.S. interest in partnering with Brazil in space research, an area in which China has shown growing influence in South America. The Chinese operate a space center in the Patagonia region of Argentina. Brazil's Alcantara space center is located near the equator, making it advantageous for space launches. The closer a launch is to the equator, the more velocity the rocket gets from the Earth's rotation. 
August 15, 2018 at 09:56AM

Asian Games 2018

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Asian Games 2018
August 15, 2018 at 02:00AM

Attorney for Stormy Daniels Discusses Policy Views as He Weighs 2020 Bid

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Attorney for Stormy Daniels Discusses Policy Views as He Weighs 2020 Bid Michael Avenatti, the attorney taking on President Donald Trump on behalf of adult film star Stormy Daniels, offered some details on his policy views Tuesday as he weighs an outsider Democratic bid for the White House. Fresh off a visit to early-voting Iowa, Avenatti said he would release more information over time, but said "people want to know how I stand on the issues at 20,000 feet." In a new policy document, Avenatti said he supports a "basic Medicare plan for all Americans," with an option to purchase additional coverage, and backed a path to citizenship for the young immigrants known as Dreamers. He also wants to see a national paid family leave program. Marijuana should be decriminalized at the federal level, so-called assault weapons should be banned and the United States should re-join the Paris climate accord, according to Avenatti. Those positions generally align Avenatti with the left flank of potential 2020 Democratic presidential prospects, but he is more moderate on some of the issues. On the federal government's chief immigration enforcement agency, Avenatti said: "We should not eliminate ICE but we must change the way ICE carries out enforcement." Some Democrats have gone further. Senator Kristen Gillibrand told CNN recently that "You should get rid of it, start over, reimagine it and build something that actually works." And Senator Kamala Harris of California has said the government "maybe" or "probably" should "start from scratch" on an immigration enforcement agency. Avenatti is a self-styled provocateur who has gained national attention for representing Daniels in her lawsuit against Trump following an alleged 2006 affair, which the president denies. For months, he's been a fixture on cable news shows, taunting Trump in interviews and baiting him and his lawyers in tweets. Avenatti also has a blistering Twitter feed and a knack for a catchy slogan. He pledged that should he run, he will not take corporate PAC money — putting him in line with a number of potential 2020 prospects. Avenatti is more general on some issues in the brief outline, saying he wants an economic plan that "delivers good quality jobs" and that college must be "more affordable for all Americans." He promised a detailed infrastructure plan called the "Real Deal." On trade, he said America must "be aggressive in dealing with countries that have gamed the system — but smart about how we fight back to avoid inflicting unnecessary harm on American workers and farmers." And on international relations, he said the United States must "negotiate denuclearization agreements with North Korea and Iran." Avenatti said he is studying the issues and consulting experts and will be releasing more information, including a "detailed economic infrastructure plan in the coming weeks." The document also serves as a statement of principle for the attorney who has never run for office. It stresses his support for all Americans "regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation or identity." He fully backs unions and said teachers need more financial support, according to the document.
August 15, 2018 at 05:23AM