SENTIENT TIMES April/May 2002

U.S. House and Senate Legislation Banning Space-Based Weapons

Support is needed for the Space Preservation Act, HR3616, Banning Space-Based Weapons

The purpose of H.R. 3616 Space Preservation Act, 2002 introduced by Congressman Dennis Kucinich, a forth-coming Senate Bill, and of the compatible World Treaty Banning Space-based Weapons, is “To preserve the cooperative, peaceful uses of space for the benefit of all humankind by permanently prohibiting the basing of weapons in space.”

The U.S. legislation requires the U.S. President “to take action to adopt and implement a world treaty banning space-based weapons.” The World Treaty would replace the ABM Treaty that President Bush announced the U.S. would unilaterally break in June.

This legislation and World Treaty to ban space-based weapons in 2002 beg our attention at this moment in history, before weapons are placed in space. The benefits are unlimited, including a world cooperative space program that replaces space-based weapons, the war industry and war mindset.

This new national and world law brings humanity into a Space Age paradigm of real solutions to urgent human problems. It stimulates a new space economy in the absence of fear with a security system and applications of space technology to enhance communication and earth observation, and replaces and eliminates dangerous technologies and transforms the war industry into a space industry.

The U.S. legislation and World Treaty Banning Space-based Weapons provide:
• A new framework for a space stimulus plan.
• A sustainable national and world economy, including a security system based on building world cooperative and inexorably linked civil, commercial and military space development and exploration programs.
• A permanent ban on space-based weapons.
• The creation of a space peacekeeping agency to verify and enforce the ban.
• Compatible wording with the U.S. legislation and UN space/peace treaties and international treaty proposals.

Passing this legislation and World Treaty in 2002 is vital to cap the arms race. It reduces and eliminates ground-based weapons that damage or destroy objects or people in space, and reduces, with eventual elimination, dangerous weapons and technologies on earth.

On December 13, 2001, Bush announced the U.S. would unilaterally abrogate the ABM Treaty in June, thus accelerating the space-based weapons program amid atmosphere of fear and terrorism. Weaponization of space increases global instability and probable global warfare with weapons of mass destruction including nuclear weapons, biological, chemical, or other weapons, sustaining suffering, poverty, environmental damage and death of more and more species including humans.

Space-based weapons are dangerous, destabilizing, too costly ($148 billion so far), and do not protect anyone or anything from terrorists. This legislation and treaty will cap the arms race forever and allow space research and development and exploration programs to continue with a non-space-based weapons mandate and commitment to direct Space Age technology, products and services to solve problems on Earth.

This is the new space paradigm … a new way of thinking which unleashes minds to create safe and clean alternative Space Age technologies, products, and services to stimulate the economy including more jobs and training programs to directly solve urgent humanitarian problems. World cooperative space research and development and explor-ation programs potentialize technology and information services to provide strong national and global security systems based on modernizing ground forces, including en-hanced world cooperative communication, information sharing and alternative technology application. The World Treaty halts worldwide research and development, testing, production, manufacturing and deployment of all space-based weapons as does the U.S. legislation. A multitude of vital benefits and opportunities are then available to everyone including a united humanity.

Despite decades of effort to halt it, the largest research and development program in history now exists and it is mandated to weaponize space above us. Removing that mandate by signing into U.S. national and world law the ban on space-based weapons will not stop ground-based weapons systems or basic research and development programs, however it does stop research and development, testing, production, manufacturing and deployment intended for space-based weaponry. This allows reduction and eventual elimination of dangerous and costly ground-based systems, their replacement and alternatives.

This ban actually frees minds in the military industrial/business, intelligence, lab university complex to create technologies, products and services we need in the Space Age in which we live. With intent and commitment the space-based weapons industry is capable of transforming into a world cooperative military, civil and commercial space industry without weapons in space. Resources, including alternative energy and clean propulsion systems, pollution free technologies, and means of caring for all life on earth are supported so they can and do emerge.

It is all of our responsibility to globally communicate the new Space Age paradigm and new thinking. Timing is of the essence, we have only a few months before the ABM Treaty is scheduled to be abrogated in June. Leaders of Canada, Russia, and China have publicly stated they are ready to ban space-based weapons.

Join this possible dream action plan now by telling your representatives in Congress that you support H.R. 3616, ask them to co-sponsor this bill with Congressman Dennis Kucinich; ask Senate members to sign-on to this bill in the Senate; “adopt a national leader” and get him or her to sign the Space Preservation Treaty and send it to U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan by June 16, 2002 (the U.N. will be the Depositary).

Visit www.peaceinspace.com for full details on this legislation. You can fax your congressman and country leaders free of charge from this site, though personal calls and personal letters emailed or faxed are best. Hold home and community meetings to inform friends and neighbors. Order the video ($25/888-641-8862) of Congressman Kucinich’s meeting in Malibu, California (25-50 were expected, 250 people came!). For more information contact Carol Rosin at the Institute for Cooperation in Space (ICIS), (805) 641-1999, rosin@west.net.

SENTIENT TIMES
PO Box 1330 Ashland, OR 97520
PHONE (541) 512-1084 • FAX (541) 512-1085
dmokma@jeffnet.org