US plans to 'own' space

Neil Mackay of the Glasgow Sunday Herald is digging through public documents again.

He was one of the first reporters to shed light on the PNAC story, which laid out the US plan to dominate the Middle East (and rest of the world), and now he's setting his sights on the American plan to dominate space:

It sounds like the stuff of the darkest sci-fi fantasies, but it's not. The Air Force Space Command Strategic Master Plan is a clear statement of the US's intention to dominate the world by turning space into the crucial battlefield of the 21st century.

The document details how the US Air Force Space Command is developing exotic new weapons, nuclear warheads and spacecraft to allow the US to hit any target on earth within seconds. It also unashamedly states that the US will not allow any other power to get a foothold in space.

...The Strategic Master Plan (SMP) changes the nature of war. No longer will battles be fought by ships, aircraft and ground forces. Instead the US will use its technology to dominate any theatre of war from space.

The document also opens the door for the US to become the only global policeman. Control of space will give it uniquely instantaneous reach, capable of 'worldwide military operations.'

In a related article from a few months ago, Chris Floyd tackled the American military's preoccupation with "Full Spectrum Dominance."