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The Republican-controlled House Intelligence Committee issued a cryptic statement Wednesday morning warning of a “national security threat” facing the United States. And while we’re still not sure about the details, a new report has arrived ABC News It includes more information about what everyone might be nervous about.
“Today, the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence made available to all members of Congress information related to a serious national security threat,” said committee chairman Representative Mike Turner, a Republican from Ohio. written on x,
Turner added, “I am requesting that President Biden make public all information related to this threat so that Congress, the Administration, and our allies can openly discuss the actions needed to respond to this threat.”
That statement was shortly followed by a letter from Representative Jim Himes, a Democrat from Connecticut, who called the issue “an urgent matter about destabilizing foreign military capability that all congressional policymakers should be aware of.” But, again, Himes offered no details and only sparked hours of speculation on Capitol Hill about what might be involved.
Intelligence reportedly includes “Russians want to put nuclear weapons in space” ABC News, If this sounds relatively heavy, it becomes even weaker when it is made clear that Russia’s desire for nuclear weapons has nothing to do with dropping them on targets on Earth from space. Apparently, Russia wants to place nuclear weapons in space “possibly for use against satellites.”
Now, we’re not going to dismiss the idea that any threat to US satellites should be taken seriously. Our modern telecommunications infrastructure relies heavily on satellites orbiting around the world. Nuclear weapons in orbit would also pose a challenge to any countermeasures against a foreign adversary because it would be harder to track – ICBMs move on a parabolic arc in space to reach halfway around the world, meaning the US Any early warning system in the U.S. will lose capability. To see the missiles as they leave their launch sites. But everything about this report sounds disappointing.
And it’s entirely possible that lawmakers are exaggerating this potential threat for some ulterior motive. In form of Washington Post According to reports, information about this Russian desire was obtained through Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.
From the post:
One official said it appears that Turner, a strong supporter of surveillance authority, wants to use information about the adversary capability to convince skeptical colleagues that the 702 is an indispensable intelligence tool.
The latest version of the bill that would reauthorize Section 702 does not require the FBI to obtain a warrant for electronic surveillance of Americans, an issue that has divided members of Congress in both parties, according to appearance Tuesday
Section 702 will expire in April if Congress does not pass a bill reauthorizing its use. But you can probably relax into the idea that Russia wants to send nuclear weapons into space. As far as we know, it’s simply a desire they want to develop. And it is not at all clear why nuclear weapons would be necessary to destroy American satellites. Why are conventional non-nuclear missiles not used? Frankly, using a nuclear bomb feels like blasting a dandelion with sand.
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