America can't afford to lose latest space race

BY ED FEULNER

It's
easy to take American military invincibility for granted. On land, at
sea and in the air, no force can match us -- a situation that has
prevailed since the Soviet Union collapsed.

But we have to avoid complacency and remain vigilant. We must be
especially wary about protecting the final frontier: space. Falling
behind there would jeopardize all our other forces.

After all, our planes, ships and even warriors on the ground
depend on precise information from our observation and communications
satellites. If we lose our eyes in the sky, we could find ourselves
losing battles on the Earth.

This could happen swiftly. Recently, China used a ground-based
ballistic missile to destroy one of its own obsolete weather satellites
-- proof that Beijing is perfecting weapons able to wipe out orbiting
objects.

A spokesman for China's foreign ministry claims his country
remains committed to the "peaceful development of outer space." But
it's difficult to see how blowing things up promotes peace.

Luckily, this isn't 1957, and the Chinese test wasn't Sputnik; it didn't catch us by surprise..............More