The Monroe Doctrine has gone into orbit, said Marc Kaufman in The Washington Post. Nearly 200 years ago, President James Monroe unilaterally declared the entire Western Hemisphere off-limits to foreign meddling. Now, President George Bush has extended American exceptionalism to the heavens. His new National Space Policy declares that this nation will reject any arms control measures that limit our options to defend our communications and spy satellites, and will bar any nation from launching satellites if they are deemed "hostile to U.S. interests." The administration insists that this doesn't mean the U.S. has any immediate plans to deploy weapons in near-Earth orbit. Nonetheless, Washington is effectively reserving to itself the right to put lasers, H-bombs, killer satellites, or anything else we need to achieve national security over our heads, while denying the same to others.
Such "chest-thumping" arrogance, unfortunately, has been the hallmark of this administration, said The New York Times in an editorial. On Earth, and now in space, the White House appears to believe it is America's divine right to rule, and to reject treaties with lesser nations. What message does that send to China and Russia, which we are now asking for help in restraining North Korea's and Iran's nuclear ambitions? So much for the idea of space as "the final frontier," open to all, said Bronwen Maddox in the London Times. For Bush, space is "the 51st state of the United States."
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