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Ziegler, David W. Safe Heavens: Military Strategy and Space Sanctuary Thought. Maxwell AFB, AL: USAF Air University, June 1997. [ 9 quotes ]

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History shows that even advanced surveillance capabilities do not give combatants a decisive advantage
 
Some proponents of space weapons believe foreign SRI satellites --particularly reconnaissance -- warrant weapons for preemptive strikes. There are, however, other ways to defeat SRI systems without incurring the costs and risks associated with space weapons. Consider that an opponent being as 'blind' as the Iraqis were during the Gulf War is a historical anomaly and not a prerequisite for victory. In World War II, for example, the United States prevailed over adversaries who possessed SRI assets nearly equal to those of the Allies. ( More ... )
Ziegler, David W. Safe Heavens: Military Strategy and Space Sanctuary Thought. Maxwell AFB, AL: USAF Air University, June 1997. [ 9 quotes ]
U.S. demonstration of feasibilty of nuclear weapons encouraged other nations to develop them
 
Not only is it possible that foreign know-how might overpower the United States in some key technology sector, but American know-how itself might work against the United States in a race for space superiority. Dr. Mueller cites nuclear history as an example of this. ( More ... )
Ziegler, David W. Safe Heavens: Military Strategy and Space Sanctuary Thought. Maxwell AFB, AL: USAF Air University, June 1997. [ 9 quotes ]
Other countries are rapidly eroding U.S. lead in space technology
 
Just as there is no guarantee that the United States will maintain air, land, and sea superiority if it shifts significant funds to space programs, there is also no guarantee that the United States will emerge the winner in the space weapons race itself. It is entirely possible that another nation could beat the Americans outright or 'leap frog' past American accomplishments late in the race. ( More ... )
Ziegler, David W. Safe Heavens: Military Strategy and Space Sanctuary Thought. Maxwell AFB, AL: USAF Air University, June 1997. [ 9 quotes ]
Funding for space weapons will come at the expense of other modernization efforts
 
In this budget-constrained environment, funding for space weapons could only come at the expense of other US defense forces. These forces are constantly challenged by global competitors for technological and operational superiority. So far, the United States has done well to preserve its advantage through relentless modernization of its systems. Those modernizations are expensive, however, and today are stretched out beyond the life cycle of the systems they replace. ( More ... )
Ziegler, David W. Safe Heavens: Military Strategy and Space Sanctuary Thought. Maxwell AFB, AL: USAF Air University, June 1997. [ 9 quotes ]
Other nations motivated by national prestige to match U.S. advances in military space
 
The traditional view of space power as a symbol of international prestige is another force driving nations to keep pace with American technology. ( More ... )
Ziegler, David W. Safe Heavens: Military Strategy and Space Sanctuary Thought. Maxwell AFB, AL: USAF Air University, June 1997. [ 9 quotes ]
Space weapons would destabilize the international system because they give an incentive to strike first
 
Whatever the reaction of the international community, the introduction of weapons into space would be strategically destabilizing. ... The US Congress Office of Technology Assessment echoed similar thoughts years later: "Pre-emptive attack would be an attractive countermeasure to space-based ASAT weapons. If each side feared that only a pre-emptive attack could counter the risk of being defeated by enemy pre-emption, then a crisis situation could be extremely unstable." This particular congressional assessment, and that of Jervis and Schelling, invite American caution with space weapons. The United States may weaponize space only to fight a war that otherwise need not have occurred. ( More ... )
Ziegler, David W. Safe Heavens: Military Strategy and Space Sanctuary Thought. Maxwell AFB, AL: USAF Air University, June 1997. [ 9 quotes ]
Japan not likely to become a military space power anytime soon
 
Any analysis of Japanese ambitions to weaponize space must ultimately consider Japan's constitutional prohibition against offensive military capabilities. Since 1945, Japan has severely constrained its defense expenditures in deference to public support for that prohibition and the military security already provided by US forces. ( More ... )
Ziegler, David W. Safe Heavens: Military Strategy and Space Sanctuary Thought. Maxwell AFB, AL: USAF Air University, June 1997. [ 9 quotes ]
U.S. Could Lose Technological Lead in a Space Arms Race
 
Not only is it possible that foreign know-how might overpower the U.S. in some key technology sector, but American know-how itself might work against the U.S. in a race for space superiority. Dr. Mueller cites nuclear history as an example of this. Today, an early U.S. nuclear monopoly continues to erode with every additional nation that acquires nuclear weapons. It can not be ignored that the growing American vulnerability to such weapons is in part compliments of the U.S. ( More ... )
Ziegler, David W. Safe Heavens: Military Strategy and Space Sanctuary Thought. Maxwell AFB, AL: USAF Air University, June 1997. [ 9 quotes ] [ page 61 ]
Space is Key Component of U.S. Military and Economic Strength
 
The United States is a spacefaring nation––it operates some 200 military and civilian satellites with a combined value of $100 billion. As impressive as these statistics appear, they do not reflect the additional billions of dollars and millions of American lives influenced every day by space communication, navigation, weather, environmental, and national security satellites. Space is big business and is inseparable from U.S. economic strength. It attracts international attention and therefore diplomatic power. It is absolutely crucial to American military operations. ( More ... )
Ziegler, David W. Safe Heavens: Military Strategy and Space Sanctuary Thought. Maxwell AFB, AL: USAF Air University, June 1997. [ 9 quotes ] [ page 7 ]