SECTION 4
Protecting U.S. Space Systems
The Case for Weaponization a. The Rumsfeld Space Commission Report
T
he National Defense Authorization Act for the fiscal year 2000 established a Commission to Assess National Security Space Management and Organization. It was chaired by Donald Rumsfeld. The report came to be known as the Rumsfeld Commission report (or alternatively as the Space Commission's report). The Commission's report was published in January, 2001, when Rumsfeld was about to take office as the U.S. Secretary of Defense. Below is a summary of its key findings. In accordance with its charter, the Commission concentrated on military and intelligence space operations and asserted a critical need for "national leadership to elevate space on the national security agenda." It also stated its unanimous conclusions that "the United States has an urgent interest in promoting and protecting the peaceful use of space…."3
The Commission concluded that the relative dependence of the United States on space made its space systems a potentially attractive target for attack. It warned that such an action during a crisis or conflict should not be considered an improbable act and recommended that the nation must strive to reduce its vulnerabilities, if it were to avoid what it called a "Space Pearl Harbor."4 It concluded five key areas needed immediate attention. First, space should be made a national security priority. Second, disparate U.S. space activities should be merged, especially those of the DOD and the intelligence community. Third, there should be better cooperation between the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency and the Secretary of Defense. Fourth, conflict in space is
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