{"id":17665,"date":"2016-12-24T04:54:15","date_gmt":"2016-12-24T04:54:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/?p=17665"},"modified":"2016-12-24T04:54:15","modified_gmt":"2016-12-24T04:54:15","slug":"president-obama-signs-defense-bill-that-could-spur-new-space-based-arms-race","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/news\/president-obama-signs-defense-bill-that-could-spur-new-space-based-arms-race.html","title":{"rendered":"President Obama signs defense bill that could spur new space-based arms race"},"content":{"rendered":"
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President Obama signs defense bill that could spur new space-based arms race<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

President Obama signs defense bill that could spur new space-based arms race:-<\/strong> President Obama has signed legislation that, by striking a single word from longstanding U.S. nuclear defense policy, could heighten tensions with Russia and China and launch the country on an expensive effort to build space-based defense systems.<\/span><\/p>\n

The National Defense Authorization Act, a year-end policy bill encompassing virtually every aspect of the U.S. military, contained two provisions with potentially momentous consequences.<\/span><\/p>\n

One struck the word \u201climited\u201d from language describing the mission of the country\u2019s homeland missile defense system. The system is designed to thwart a small-scale attack by a non-superpower such as North Korea or Iran.<\/span><\/p>\n

A related provision calls for the Pentagon to start \u201cresearch, development, test and evaluation\u201d of space-based systems for missile defense.<\/span><\/p>\n

Together, the provisions signal that the U.S. will seek to use advanced technology to defeat both small-scale and large-scale nuclear attacks. That could unsettle the decades-old balance of power among the major nuclear states.<\/span><\/p>\n

Huge bipartisan majorities in both houses of Congress approved the policy changes over the past month, with virtually no public debate.<\/span><\/p>\n

Although the White House had earlier criticized the changes, it stopped short of threatening a veto. On Friday, Obama signed the legislation.<\/span><\/p>\n

In a four-page signing statement, the president criticized various aspects of the bill, including the structure of a cyber-security command and limits on administrative leave for employees, but said nothing about the changes in nuclear defense policy.<\/span><\/p>\n

Before Obama\u2019s action, proponents and opponents of the policy changes agreed that they could have dramatic effects.<\/span><\/p>\n

Leading defense scientists said the idea that a space-based system could provide security against nuclear attack is a fantasy.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt defies the laws of physics and is not based on science of any kind,\u201d said L. David Montague, a retired president of missile systems for Lockheed Corp. and co-chair of a National Academy of Sciences panel that studied missile defense technologies at the request of Congress.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cEven if we darken the sky with hundreds or thousands of satellites and interceptors, there\u2019s no way to ensure against a dedicated attack,\u201d Montague said in an interview. \u201cSo it\u2019s an opportunity to waste a prodigious amount of money.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Source:-\u00a0http:\/\/www.latimes.com\/nation\/la-na-missile-defense-signing-20161223-story.html<\/span><\/div>\n

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