Thursday, December 09, 2004

Wasteful, Dangerous, Expensive, and Secret

Apparently, there are some mysterious problems with some of the items on BushCo's intelligence wish-list.

Congress' new blueprint for U.S. intelligence spending includes a mysterious and expensive spy program that drew extraordinary criticism from leading Democrats, with one saying the highly classified project is a threat to national security.

In an unusual rebuke, Sen. Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia, the senior Democrat on the Intelligence Committee, complained Wednesday that the spy project was "totally unjustified and very, very wasteful and dangerous to the national security." He called the program "stunningly expensive."

[snip]

Each senator - and more than two dozen current and former U.S. officials contacted by The Associated Press - declined to further describe or identify the disputed program, citing its classified nature.
Makes you wonder, huh? James Bamford, who seems pretty reliable to me, is quoted as saying it's probably a satellite-based program. The invaluable Defensetech.org site agrees, and offers info on what sort of programs Rockefeller might be talking about:
Back in January of 2003, the Defense Department launched its Experimental Satellite Series (XSS), which is developing pint-size orbiters, largely for offensive purposes. Recently-revealed XSS designs include a "blocker" microsat, which uses a "circular, gimbaled, opaque fan" to stop up enemy communications in space....Satellites from hostile countries aren't the only ones which could be blocked or grabbed by the American machines. In a recent report, the Air Force declared that orbiters from neutral nations, private companies -- even weather satellites -- were all on the target list, too.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'll say it's dangerous to national security. If we start jamming satellites we don't like, it's only a matter of time before other satellite owners start jamming our important ones. Just because we have this kind of technology doesn't mean other countries don't have it, too. While they're at it, they'll send up new satellites which will only work around the jamming. And it's not pushing the realm of sci-fi to think that one workaround might be something like, oh ARMING satellites with weapons that can knock out these "offensive" satbots. DUH.

What the hell are these people thinking? Do they want a Satellite War or something? Do they want China (for example) jamming our satellites? Do they want terrorists targeting satellites, on which we rely for all kinds of communications? Think the 'Murkan people wouldn't get a bit peeved if something stupid these morons did knocked out the satellite for their favorite cable channel or their cell phone network? Good grief, what incredible idiots!

Anonymous said...

The previous post was me. I keep forgetting that I'm anonymous here...

--LJ