The Space Force Is Trump’s Least Bad Idea
America’s satellites are its Achilles’ heel
Not even President Trump’s most fervent supporters would mistake him for a policy wonk. As a leader, Trump has a preference for tangible, easily understood ideas that double as not-so-subtle branding exercises: Fort Trump is good; walls are good. As such, it’s readily understandable why the president would leap at the chance to sponsor a new arm of the military — a Space Force. It’s equally understandable that the president’s critics might conclude that Trump’s interest is largely driven by his ego. (This is a man who prostrated himself to ensure battle tanks would be present at his Independence Day parade.)
However, dismissing the Space Force because of the hubris of its leading cheerleader would be a mistake. This is not your run-of-the-mill Trump branding exercise. In stark contrast to something like the Mexican border wall, a medieval solution to a shrinking problem, the Space Force would see America playing catch-up to a new geopolitical trend: the militarization of space.
Satellites are infrastructure for an interconnected world.
Star wars
Recently we’ve seen a range of countries demonstrate their ability to project force into space, in the most…
