An Independent Policy Forum held on 3/7/08. Peter L. Hays, Associate Director of the Eisenhower Center for Space and Defense Studies, and Theresa Hitchens, Director of the Center for Defense Information, discuss the implications that the U.S. takedown of a malfunctioning satellite have for a potential arms race in space.
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Did the United States test an anti-satellite weapon when it “shot down” an out-of-control spy satellite earlier this month? Or was it a precautionary measure to protect people on the ground who might have been hit with a fuel tank filled with a poisonous gas?
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The 1967 Outer Space Treaty designated space for peaceful purposes as “the province of all mankind.” Virtually all spacefaring nations now favor a new treaty to accommodate major changes in geopolitics and military technology. The United States, however, has blocked negotiations, citing potential threats to U.S. “rights, capabilities, and freedom of action.”
Dr. Michael Crichton, author of "State of Fear," along with a discussion by a panel of distinguished scientists, examined and spoke to the increasing politicization of science at an event sponsored by the Independent Institute in 2005.
Filmed before a live audience on April 18, 2002, renowned author Gore Vidal rejects the blind “patriotism” expected by government officials and the mainstream media, and investigates U.S. foreign policy throughout recent history, showing how it has contributed to the terrorist crisis. With his famous wit and insight, Vidal also demonstrates the ways in which the “War on Terrorism” is being used to curtail civil liberties and shred the Bill of Rights.
