A s an outspoken opponent of weapons in space, Theresa Hitchens has plenty of critics on the right side of the political spectrum. But some might be surprised to learn that Hitchens occasionally takes fire from the left as well. She opposes, for example, circumventing the United States to forge an international treaty banning space-based weapons — a move favored by some arms control advocates. Such a push, she says, would only isolate the country best equipped to deploy such systems. A former editor of the trade publication Defense News, Hitchens recognizes that space-based communications, reconnaissance and navigation systems are critical to U.S. national security. She took up the cause against space and anti-satellite weaponry following the January 2001 release of a landmark study warning that the United States could one day face a Pearl Harbor in space. She believes that review, led by Donald Rumsfeld prior to his nomination to serve as U.S. secretary of defense, laid the groundwork for what is often referred to as space weaponization.
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