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Budget Issues Force Spy Satellites Into The Open

Posted by timothy on from the pretty-soon-we're-talking-real-money dept.

Korsair25 points out this article about a U.S. spy satellite program. "Quote: 'Over the decades, spying from space has always earned super-secret status. They are the black projects, fulfilling dark tasks and often bankrolled by blank check.' It also talks about some of the technology used to disguise or camouflage some of the operational satellites."

6 of 370 comments (clear)

  1. Appropriations disclosure by dark_requiem · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't the constituttion mandate that congress make publicly available a DETAILED ledger of expenses? Oh well, it's not like the US government cares about little things like their founding charter any more. After all, who needs a pretense of legitimacy?

  2. Re:Did us a lot of good... by EvanED · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Actually, if you're referring to the Cuban Missile Crisis (and I don't know any other event you could be talking about), it wasn't satellite recon that gave us those shots, it was U2 surveillance.

  3. We don't need them, until we need them. by raehl · · Score: 5, Insightful

    This "We don't need spy satalites in the current climate so we shouldn't develop them" is EXACTLY the kind of "get what we need for right now" thinking that got us in trouble with 9/11 in the first place.

    We can't just react to the situation we're in now. We need a broad base of capabilities to address needs we have now, AND needs we may have in the future, AND needs we have no idea we'll have in the future.

    We got burned on 9/11 because our entire system was still moving from being extremely focused on fighting the cold war to being extremely focused on being able to fight two regional conflicts. So we got hit where we were vulnerable - global terrorist conflict.

    Just as ignoring that threat was a mistake in the past, deciding to scrap any equipment related to threats not currently present would be just as grave of an error, one we should hopefully avoid discovering in hindsight.

    --
    paintball
    1. Re:We don't need them, until we need them. by JohnnyCannuk · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Funny, I thought 9/11 was indirectly caused by decades of US government support of brutal regimes throughout the Middle East.

      More directly, it was caused by Dubya ignoing Richard Clarke for 8 months, by initially cutting the FBI's funding for anti-terrorism activities and by ignoring an NSA briefing entitled "Bin Laden Determined to Strike in America" in August 2001 while he was on vacation.

      Clinton shares some blame for 9/11, but remember, the same people who are now blaming him for NOT going after him back in 96-99 are the ones who said that, when he TRIED going after Bin Laden in Afghanistan in 96, he was shooting cruise missles as a diversion away from the Monica Lewinsky affair!

      Can't have it both ways: either he tried to go for it and the Republicans slammed his efforts as a diversion or he didn't go after him enough, according to Republicans. Well?

      Bin Laden escaped and 9\11 happened because of internal US partisan politics rather than ANY "focus on fighting the cold war". The warning and urging were there, but politicians, especially GWB, didn't listen.

      THAT is the problem, not any military navel gazing. The military is one of those few organizations that is actually designed to change quickly when ordered to do so...no politician had the guts to give the order.

      --
      Never by hatred has hatred been appeased, only by kindness - the Buddha
  4. How would most people know... by wasted · · Score: 5, Insightful

    ...how useful they are/were? The US intelligence agencies are not likely to tell folks where they got what information if they don't have to. For example, if information concerning the locations and orientations of anti-aircraft weaponry was obtained via satellite, the information would likely be passed to on-scene commanders, but not to CNN or such, so the average person is not going to know how effective the satellites are.

  5. Re:mmm yeah by dabigpaybackski · · Score: 5, Insightful
    blank checks rock...

    Yes, especially if you happen to be a "defense" contractor...

    "Thank you, Congressman, for your stauch advocacy of this worthy project. The $11 billion you allocated for the fiscal year will fund additional research in order to get this system fielded. Um, by the way, we noticed that you are retiring soon. Perhaps you would like to lend your national security expertise as a consultant to our "advisory board," in exchange for a modest stipend, of course." *wink*

    "Why, I think that I might be able to set aside a few hours a week with your fine company. After all, it's a matter of national security." *wink*

    --
    "OH SHIT, THERE'S A HORSE IN THE HOSPITAL!"