“Many creative writers keep journals; the sociologist’s need for systematic reflection demands it.” -C. Wright Mills

The Chinese test that successfully destroyed an aging weather satellite has got the Americans bitching and moaning. I suppose they have to politically, but from the Chinese perspective, it seems to me a clearly intelligent move. First, the test, which was observed by–of all things–satellites, demonstrated that the Chinese now have the capacity to destroy American military spy satellites. As a defensive military move in the current age, this is indispensable. The US has been shifting toward remote satellite coordinated warfare.The Gentle Reader will recall the stories of GIs in Florida remarking on how delightful it is to go home to their family after a day of flying remote controlled missions in Iraq from a simulated cockpit and the military’s increasing effort to recruit our nations best video game players to run these remote missions. Being able to destroy a potential enemy’s capacity for satellite operated warfare is clearly a vital need. But “Wait!” you say, “I thought China was supposed to be our friend.” It may be, but would you trust our government after the US, which has refused to sign the Kyoto Protocol and the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty it forces others to sign, “authorized a new national space policy that ignored calls for a global prohibition on such tests”? “The policy said the United States would ‘preserve its rights, capabilities, and freedom of action in space’ and ‘dissuade or deter others from either impeding those rights or developing capabilities intended to do so.’ It declared the United States would ‘deny, if necessary, adversaries the use of space capabilities hostile to U.S. national interests.’” If the US is China’s friend, where’s the problem?