Cord Byrd: “During the August recess, The New York Times Magazine ran a cover story entitled ``The Coming Space War'' The article…”

“During the August recess, The New York Times Magazine ran a cover story entitled ``The Coming Space War'' The article caught my interest, as I am sure that it intrigued many other readers. The author's contention is that the U.S. military is considering a campaign to achieve military superiority in space similar to the kind of military superiority that U.S. forces seek in the air, on land, and from the sky. Military superiority in space is deemed critical in order to protect our increasing dependence on satellites for communications, surveillance, commercial and military purposes. On August 24, President Bush named Air Force General Richard Myers, a former chief of the U.S. Space Command and of the North American Aerospace Defense Command, as the new Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. General Myers' selection as Chairman is in keeping with President Bush's strong support for building a national missile defense, NMD, the follow-on to President Reagan's Star Wars Strategic Defense Initiative, SDI. It is certainly true that our dependence--and that of other developed and developing nations--on these winking, blinking objects winging through the night sky has increased exponentially over the last decade.”