Senior Military Leaders Urge Rejection of Ill-Considered U.S.-Russian Launch Notification Accord

(Washington, D.C.): Nineteen distinguished retired U.S. military commanders today warned President Clinton that a U.S.-Russian agreement expected to be signed later this week in Brussels is inconsistent with his declared space policy — and with the Nation’s national security and economic interests.

In their Open Letter to the President, the seven four-star generals and admirals and their colleagues expressed strong support for the President’s official policy, which calls for “U.S. leadership in space.” Specifically, it states that:

Unimpeded access to and use of space is a vital national interest….We will deter threats to our interest in space, counter hostile efforts against U.S. access to and use of space and maintain the ability to counter space systems and services that could be used for hostile purposes against our military forces….We will maintain our technological superiority in space systems….

The signatories observe, however, that there are “serious shortfalls in our capabilities to implement such a space power strategy.” This is especially true with respect to limitations that effectively deny the Nation “unimpeded access” to space.

The senior military leaders note that:

Unfortunately, that objective appears to be at cross-purposes with the new agreement your Administration has negotiated with the Russian Federation. If anything, this “Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Missile Launch Notifications” seems likely to add to the existing impediments to more expeditious and efficient access to space by requiring prior notice to the Kremlin of all ballistic missile launches and virtually all space launches. Operational security and counter-intelligence considerations, as well as 21st Century military doctrines calling for routine and expeditious space launch capabilities, strongly argue against our assuming such obligations.

The letter was released this morning at a High-Level Roundtable Discussion on “Space Power: What are the Stakes, What Will it Take?” convened by the Center for Security Policy in the Hart Senate Office Building. Lead discussants included: Senator Robert Smith of New Hampshire, a senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee; former Secretary of Defense and Energy James Schlesinger; former Commander of U.S. Space Command General Charles Horner; Marty Faga, former Director of the National Reconnaissance Office; Dr. Larry Gershwin, National Intelligence Officer for Space; and Major General Brian Arnold USAF, the Air Force’s Director for Space and Nuclear Deterrence.