Bush must destroy Cuban base that jams Telstar satellite; US space dominance at risk

In what a US official likened to an “act of war,” the Cuban government has sabotaged an American communications satellite on behalf of Iran.

The Cuban information warfare operation has jammed US radio and television Persian-language transmissions via the Telstar-12 satellite to Iran. The American broadcasts, both privately and publicly sponsored, are intended to undermine Iran’s terrorist regime and promote the broadening democracy movement in that country. Jammed broadcasts include the Voice of America, as well as California-based Persian TV sponsored by exile groups.

Cuba now has raised its status as a target in the war on terrorism.

Satellite owners traced the origin of the jamming to Bejucal, about 20 miles outside Havana, a Russian-built electronic warfare site. Reports say that the People’s Republic of China “currently supplies equipment for the base as well as direction to the Cubans on how to use it.”

Iran cannot jam the signals from its territory, because Telstar-12’s geostationary orbit is above the Atlantic, at 15 degrees west. US officials say that Cuba and Iran agreed a month ago to run the operation.

Bejucal is now a terrorist asset. It gives Castro enormous abilities to conduct information warfare against US assets and space, and presents a major threat to US space dominance.

It is difficult to overstate the gravity of this development. President Bush should order the destruction of the Bejucal facility – now – before the threat worsens.

(Note: Loral Skynet announced Tuesday that it was selling Telstar-12 and other communications satellites to Intelsat under a bankruptcy deal.)