A number of points demonstrate how limited, and prone to failure, such a space control strategy [targeting ground stations] could be. First, in order for a target list to be useful, it must be updated and expanded regularly. To do that, the United States would need good to near-perfect intelligence. Assume U.S. intelligence agencies had the luxury of needing to watch only one potential enemy. To understand how difficult obtaining the required intelligence would be on just one country under a spotlight, remember that the United States was unaware of the true extent of Iraq's nuclear production facilities in peacetime prior to the Persian Gulf war, and that coalition air forces experienced agonizing difficulties in locating mobile Scud missiles during the war. Defense planners and policy makers who rely heavily on satellites for intelligence need to adopt a bit of humility, appreciating how much we do not and cannot know.

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Lambakis, Steven. "Space Control in Desert Storm and Beyond." Orbis. Vol. 39, No. 3 (Summer 1995). [ 6 quotes ]