Biden Unilaterally Surrenders to Russia and China in Satellite Wars Our enemies will have a clear field for destroying our satellites. Daniel Greenfield
Kamala Harris arrived at Vandenberg Space Force Base where Discoverer-1, the first satellite to enter a polar orbit and America’s bold response to Russia’s Sputnik, was launched to announce that we would be unilaterally surrendering to Russia and China in the growing satellite wars.
Last November, Russia had conducted a DA-ASAT or direct-ascent anti-satellite test which demonstrated its ability to take out satellites. The Russians had used their A-235 anti-ballistic missile system to destroy their own Kosmos 1408 satellite. The message was clear: Moscow had the ability to clear out enemy satellites in the event of any conflict. Including ours.
“I don’t want to get ahead of specific measures that we may pursue,” Biden apparatchik Ned Price fumed, but had vowed that “we won’t tolerate this kind of activity.”
At Vandenberg, Kamala announced that the response would be absolute and total surrender.
Responding to Russia’s anti-satellite weapons test and Communist China’s earlier 2007 ASAT test, the Biden administration vows that it will surrender and refuse to deploy ASAT weapons.
“I think everyone here recognizes how extraordinary space is,” Kamala Harris rambled. “Space — it affects us all, and it connects us all.”
After these deep thoughts, she explained that the Biden administration wants the Space Force to “protect our interests in space” but not in a way that violates “international norms and rules.”
ASAT weapons don’t actually violate any international laws. That’s why protests against China and Russia’s weapons tests have previously fallen on deaf ears. The two totalitarian countries aren’t breaking any rules or norms by testing and deploying ASAT weapons from the ground that target orbital objects. We could legally develop and deploy ASAT weapons ourselves.
Speaking to the Space Force, as if she were addressing a class of kindergarteners, Kamala explained that rules and norms give us a “sense of order and stability” whether “it is the way we interact with our colleagues at work or the way nations interact with each other.”
A “sense of order and stability” is an illusion and very different than real order and stability. There was a “sense of order and stability” in Europe in January 2022. That’s the state of delusion with which the Biden administration intends to meet the rise of the satellite wars.
Under Biden, the United States will no longer lead in the exploration or exploitation of space, but in creating “norms for the responsible and peaceful use of outer space.”
And that means not doing a damn thing to defend ourselves.
Kamala admitted that the Russian and Chinese ASAT tests are “intended to deny the United States our ability to use our space capabilities” and that in response her boss will do nothing.
“We have consistently condemned these tests and called them res- — reckless. But that is not enough. Today we are going further. I am pleased to announce that as of today, the United States commits not to conduct destructive direct-ascent anti-satellite missile testing. Simply put: These tests are dangerous, and we will not conduct them,” she declared.
In the face of Russia and China’s orbital escalation, America will lead by refusing to fight back.
While Biden works on creating “international norms” for outer space, our enemies have a clear field for destroying our satellites. Kamala has announced that she’s calling on other countries to join us in also unilaterally refusing to build up the capability to deter aggression in outer space.
If enough nations surrender then Russia and China will feel bad about what they’re doing.
Vandenberg symbolizes America’s refusal to surrender space to our enemies.
When Sputnik was first launched, many Americans panicked. But instead of unilaterally surrendering, we put Explorer 1 into orbit next year. The Thor rose from the sky over Vandenberg to not only beat the Soviet Union to the deployment of the first intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM), but also went on to power our space program, launching Discoverer-1 and helping inaugurate a new era of space exploration through the Delta rockets and made it clear that we could not and should not sever space exploration from national defense.
In 2019, we tested our first new IRBM, formerly off limits due to a worthless arms control pact that the Russians cheated on every chance that they got.
While President Trump refused Putin’s pleas to extend the worthless treaty, Biden promised a five-year extension for the START treaty with no preconditions. That’s far more than Putin even asked for. And the Biden administration has been trying to negotiate an arms control treaty that will tie our hands and allow the Russians to once again cheat as much as they want to.
Tired of surrendering to Russia during negotiations, Biden is now leading the way by surrendering without even bothering to negotiate.
Announcing that America will not test ASAT weapons will allow the Chinese and the Russians to extend their lead while crippling future administrations.
It will allow both enemies to blackmail us and the world.
“Conflict or confrontation in outer space is not inevitable, and the United States seeks to ensure outer space remains free from conflict,” the Biden administration claimed. While conflict is not inevitable, pacifism, unilateral surrender, and appeasement are the most likely to bring it on.
The original motto of the Strategic Air Command was, “War is our profession – Peace is our product.” These sorts of slogans, often mocked by lefties, conveyed the basic truth that we had learned so painfully during WWII and the Cold War.
Deterrence is the only reliable guarantee of peace.
Had we not developed the world’s leading arsenal of nuclear weapons, WWIII would have happened generations ago and left radioactive craters across Europe and America.
As Biden’s conflicted response to the invasion in Ukraine shows, surrender and scolding just brings on war, telegraphing your impotence while infuriating the enemy with your scolding.
If the United States really wants to stop the deployment of ASAT weapons, it needs to take the lead in developing and deploying them. While the Chinese and Russian tests were messy, that’s born of the reckless disregard that both countries are prone to. Cleaner ASAT tests are possible and necessary. Especially if the United States really wants China and Russia to sign on to an ASAT ban. Arms control treaties are notoriously useless, but the only reason Russia or China would sign on to an ASAT ban would be to stop American ASAT weapons from being a threat.
By unilaterally surrendering the satellite wars, Biden and Kamala have ensured that China and Russia will race forward and will not sign on to any treaties unless they also comprehensively cripple America in areas where we have a clear advantage. Democrats and their fellow travelers will call such treaties a victory for international peace when they are truly a defeat.
Vandenberg is a proud reminder that America doesn’t have to accept defeat in space.
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