These are all reasonable arguments, but to conclude from them that space weaponization is inevitable, rather than merely possible or even likely, is unwarranted, for several reasons. There is no question that space systems are a key center of gravity (or perhaps several) for U.S. military capabilities. An enemy that attacked them might be able to impair U.S. military operations very seriously, and this ranks high among threats that concern U.S. strategists. It need not follow from this that the enemies of the United States will do so, or invest in the weapons required to do so, however. The U.S. armed forces possess many important vulnerabilities that adversaries have often, even consistently, opted not to attack in past conflicts. To cite but one widely-discussed example, during Operation Allied Force in 1999, Serbia apparently did not attempt to mount special forces attacks against key NATO airbases in Italy or to use manportable missiles to shoot down aircraft operating from them during take-off or landing, although such an action could have profoundly disrupted the Alliance's bombing campaign

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Mueller, Karl P. "Is the Weaponization of Space Inevitable?." . (March 27, 2002). [ 3 quotes ] [ page 11 ]