The arguments in favor of weaponizing space center around the fact that the United States relies heavily on space-based assets for both military and commercial needs. Protecting these assets will become increasingly important as access to space becomes cheaper and the technology needed for this access becomes more available. As General Estes said before Congress: "Increased reliance on space systems means improved capabilities, but also new vulner - abilities. . . . The U.S. must be able to control the medium of space to assure our access and deny the same to any adver - sary." Gen John Michael "Mike" Loh, USAF, Retired, former commander of Air Combat Command, echoed this concern at a Center for Security Policy roundtable discussion titled "The Need for American Space Dominance." In outlining US dependence on space-based assets, General Loh noted that "it is almost frightening when you . . . look at how little we have allowed for the protection . . . of those assets." While these statements do not explicitly call for space-based weap - ons to effect this control, a key underlying assumption of this argument is that space-based weapons are needed to do the job. As a consequence no restrictions should be placed on their development, testing, and eventual deployment.

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Spacy, William L. Does the United States Need Space-Based Weapons?. Maxwell AFB, AL: USAF Air University, September 1999. [ 11 quotes ] [ page 3-4 ]