14 February 2008

A Fine Use of Amerikan Military Technology

"This is all about trying to reduce the danger to human beings," ... That's rich, for these hypocrites to be concerned about a falling satellite when they're spending billions to kill thousands of human beings in Afghanistan and Iraq. We're guessing they've projected the satellite might be headed for Washington, DC.

US to Shoot Down Broken Spy Satellite
By LOLITA C. BALDOR, AP, Posted: 2008-02-14 18:58:41

WASHINGTON (Feb. 14) - President Bush has ordered the Pentagon to use a Navy missile to attempt to destroy a broken U.S. spy satellite — and thereby minimize the risk to humans from its toxic fuel — by intercepting it just before it re-enters the atmosphere, officials said Thursday.

The effort — the first of its kind — will be undertaken because of the potential that people in the area where the satellite would otherwise crash could be harmed, the officials said.

Deputy National Security Adviser James Jeffrey, briefing reporters at the Pentagon, did not say when the attempted intercept would be conducted, but the satellite is expected to hit Earth during the first week of March.

"This is all about trying to reduce the danger to human beings," Jeffrey said.

Gen. James Cartwright, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said at the same briefing that the "window of opportunity" for such a shootdown, presumably to be launched from a Navy ship, will open in the next three or four days and last for seven or eight days. He did not say whether the Pentagon has decided on an exact launch date.

Cartwright said this will be an unprecedented effort; he would not say exactly what are the odds of success.

"This is the first time we've used a tactical missile to engage a spacecraft," Cartwright said.


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