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Store: An Independent Institute Book
TWILIGHT WAR
The Folly of U.S. Space Dominance
By
Mike Moore
The 1967 Outer Space Treaty designated space as the “province of all mankind.” It expressly prohibited nuclear and non-nuclear weapons of mass destruction in orbital space and exclusively limited the use of the Moon and other celestial bodies for “peaceful purposes.”
But changes in the post–Cold War world, as well as unforeseeable advances in satellite and weapons technologies, have compelled every space-faring nation—save the U.S. and Israel—to go on record as favoring a new treaty for the Prevention of an Arms Race in Outer Space.
In Twilight War: The Folly of U.S. Space Dominance, Mike Moore, former editor of The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, argues that the U.S. merely provokes conflict when it presumes to be the exception to the rule. Rejecting treaty negotiations while further militarizing space renders America unable to lead by example. Moore concludes that instead of trying to stop an arms race in space by starting one, the U.S. must radically rethink its strategy.
Detailed Summary |
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Table of Contents Acknowledgments
Preface
Introduction
1. Triumphalism in Space
2. Full Spectrum Dominance
3. Nightmare Scenarios
4. Joined at the Hip
5. Prompt Global Strike
6. Put to the Sword
7. True Space Ships
8. Guardian of the Peace
9. The Right Question
10. Open Skies, Space Spies
11. The Freedom of Space
12. The Road Not Taken
13. The Americanization of the World
14. The New Utopians
15. The Next Cold War?
16. The Irony of American History
Appendix A / Into Space, Anonymously
Appendix B / Newton’s Cannon
Appendix C / Space Control—A Very Old Idea
Appendix D / From Silverbird to FALCON
Appendix E / Useful Websites
Notes
Index
About the Author
Praise for Twilight War “Sixty years ago I wrote ‘We will take no frontiers into space.’ Twilight War presents riveting and disturbing evidence that some nations are attempting just that—making the heavens unsafe for us all.”
—SIR ARTHUR C.CLARKE, author of 2001: A Space Odyssey
“Twilight War is a tour de force.”
—THERESA HITCHENS, Director, Center for Defense Information, author of Future Security in Space: Charting a Cooperative Course
“A well-balanced, comprehensive and clearly written analysis that examines the critical issue of space policy in the context of international security and fundamental American values.”
—LT. GENERAL ROBERT G. GARD, JR., (USA, Ret.), Senior Military Fellow, Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation
“Moore’s gripping and masterful account of war and law in space should be required reading.”
—JOHN C. POLANYI, Nobel Laureate in Chemistry, University of Toronto
“Is the militarization of space inevitable? According to Mike Moore, former editor of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, U.S. space policy increasingly proceeds on the assumption that it is. If this continues, the militarization of space will become a self-fulfilling prophecy. . . . Twilight War is an authoritative study of this new security problem and a highly readable and richly detailed historical account of people, institutions, technologies, and ideas from the invention of the airplane to China’s January 2007 ASAT test. . . . Moore’s presentation of space warrior ideology, and critique of it, is lucid and thorough. He also brilliantly chronicles the rise of the military-industrial complex, especially the symbiosis between Air Force and aerospace interests going back to its origins in World War I. . . . Mike Moore’s book is timely, learned, and important. The future of space is currently being decided in corporate boardrooms and Pentagon offices, with the quiet complicity of Congress, Twilight War—which is a page-turned—launches the informed debate on U.S. space policy that democracy requires.”
—POLITICAL SCIENCE QUARTERLY
“An indispensable resource for anyone looking to get smart on a possible new cold war—in space. Wide-ranging research and an elegant writing style make for an easy tutorial.”
—JOSEPH CIRINCIONE, Vice President for National Security, Center for American Progress
“Mike Moore, former editor of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, presents a straightforward thesis early in Twilight War: If a cold war develops in space, the United States will have incited it; if the United States refrains from a ‘policy of space dominance,’ a new cold war is less likely. What follows is a wide-ranging history of not only space technology, but the ideas that drive early air-power theorists and ‘space warriors.’ Reaching as far back as Athenian democracy, the author argues that hubristic beliefs in exceptionalism, as he sees in much of the U.S. rationale for space dominance, is ultimately dangerous and risks understandable rejection by others in the international community. Instead, he calls for the United States to engage in efforts to conclude a new space treaty, despite the difficulties of verification and U.S. development of missile defense, which is akin to some antisatellite technology.”
—ARMS CONTROL TODAY
“Twilight War is an exceptional work, intellectually honest and refreshing. The research is solid and the inferences made from it are fully supportable. Twilight War will quickly become must-read in the field.”
—EVERETT C. DOLMAN, Professor of Comparative Military Studies, Air Force School of Advanced Air and Space Studies, author of Astropolitik: Classical Geopolitics in the Space Age
“An excellent and thorough work. A significant addition to the literature of the important issue of space security.”
—AMBASSADOR THOMAS GRAHAM, JR., Chairman of the Cypress Fund; Senior U.S. Diplomat for arms control and non proliferation, 1970–1997
“Mike Moore does a wonderful job describing the forces that are pushing the United States to further militarize space and dominate it. And an equally good job of demonstrating that an arms race in space might very well have regrettable consequences for America and the world.”
—JOHN J. MEARSHEIMER, R. Wendell Harrison Distinguished Service Professor of Political Science, University of Chicago, author of The Tragedy of Great Power Politics
“Twilight War provides clear insight as to what we should expect—and demand—from our political leadership to ensure that outer space remains a resource for all and a security threat to none.”
—JEFFREY BOUTWELL, Executive Director, Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs
“[Twilight War] examines the development and use of ASAT as part of a general philosophy espoused in some quarters for ‘space dominance’: the ability by the United States to control who can access and use space. . . . The book, Moore writes, ‘is more about values than technology,’ and much of the book is indeed devoted to issues of values and policy rather than technology. This includes discussion of historical and policy background on issues ranging from the establishment of the ‘freedom of space’ concept that allowed satellite overflights to the doctrine of precision bombing to the concept of ‘American exceptionalism,’ which in the eyes of its proponents puts America above the other nations in the world and makes it free to do whatever it wants in world affairs. These concepts can at times seem far afield from the issues of space weaponization and space dominance, but Moore ties them all together by the end of the book. . . . Twilight War does offer a guide to future administrations on why an arms race in space can be prevented.”
—THE SPACE REVIEW
“Mike Moore’s book, Twilight War: The Folly of U.S. Space Dominance, is written with lay readers in mind. Moore, a former editor of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, writes with clarity and passion against the policy preferences of U.S. ‘space warriors.’ Moore is interested primarily in the military uses of space, a narrower focus than Space as a Strategic Asset, but one that leaves room for many digressions about the history of airpower and U.S. exceptionalism, which he believes is one of the root causes of unwise U.S. military space policy. Some readers may take issue with the extent of these digressions; this reviewer learned from them. . . . Since nations that have the ability to launch satellites also have the ability to harm them, Moore’s injunction about the military uses of outer space is simple, straightforward, and entirely sensible: ‘Do not do unto others what you would not like them to do unto you.’ Moore’s prescriptions for a new treaty will not be easy to implement. . . . Moore has done an admirable job describing a problem that does not lend itself to ambitious or simple solutions. He postulates an either/or policy choice between the pursuit of space dominance or a treaty to prevent an arms race in outer space.”
—NONPROLIFERATION REVIEW
“Mike Moore’s book provides a much needed look at the misguided state of U.S. space policy, making an effective case against the space weapons which currently seem on the policy agenda. . . . For those less familiar and less opinionated on the topic, it is guaranteed to inform through a richly woven combination of largely historical, political and philosophical considerations, and all in a very readable manner attributable to Moore’s background in journalism. It is wide-ranging in consideration of viewpoints and careful in documentation. . . . Everyone will benefit from reading Moore’s book, from lay readers—the crucial audience that must be reached if U.S. policymakers are to be persuaded to make serious course changes—to space enthusiasts and the space policy community at large. This is a topic ignored to the peril of all Americans.”
—SPACE TIMES
“Twilight War puts forward two well-articulated lines of argument. The first is that achieving U.S. space control is technologically and fiscally extremely unlikely, given the increasing space capabilities of other countries, not only Russia but also China, India, Japan, and the nation-states of Europe. The second is that rather than being consistent with U.S. values, ‘building and deploying the capability to unilaterally control space and place weapons in space would not square with America’s historic reverence for liberty and the rule of law.’ . . . Twilight War is a very useful addition to the growing body of thinking and writing that opposes moves to weaponize space and that advocates multilateral approaches to space security. . . . The book is a reminder that the ability to operate in space free from the threats of disruption is essential to the modern world, and both provide an ultimately optimistic assessment that it is possible to get to such a state of affairs.”
—ISSUES IN SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
“Mike Moore (not the film producer) has been a journalist and the editor of The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, and is a professional pundit on space and security policy. His book’s focus, he writes, is ‘more about values than about technology’. Indeed, he calls his book a ‘biography of an idea’, of the United States and its evolving policy to control near-earth space and put weapons there. His title, Twilight War, calls attention not only to satellites traveling between space and darkness, but to decisions being quietly made in the shadows. . . . Obama’s advisors should read this book if only to have a better sense of what they are up against and what arguments of the skeptics and critics are. One can learn a lot from them. The book is a sign that there is another intellectual and policy debate to be waged as we struggle to find the right answers to these questions.”
—INTERNATIONAL HISTORY REVIEW About the Author Mike Moore is a Research Fellow at the Independent Institute and former editor of The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, a science-oriented peace-and-security magazine founded by key members of the Manhattan Project. He has been a reporter and editor for the Kansas City Star, Chicago Daily News, Chicago Tribune, and Milwaukee Journal, as well as the editor for Quill, the magazine of the Society of Professional Journalists. In addition to his work in journalism, he served on the Council on Foreign Relations Study Group “U.S. Space Posture for the 21st Century,” the Eisenhower Institute’s “Space Security Working Group on the Future of Space,” and the Stanley Foundation task force “Winning the Peace in the 21st Century.” He lives in Missouri with his wife, Sandy.
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