An act of war

It's been a while since I heard someone make this argument.

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http://www.janes.com/defence/news/jd...0430_1_n.shtml

Jane's Defence Weekly
30 April 2007

Chinese ASAT test prompts US rethink
By Caitlin Harrington

China's test of an anti-satellite weapon in January was a
"strategically dislocating" event as significant as the Russian launch
of Sputnik in 1957, US Air Force (USAF) Chief of Staff General Michael
Moseley said on 24 April.

Gen Moseley said it had spurred the USAF to evaluate its defensive
options in outer space and added that the strategic stakes are higher
than ever in outer space.

The vulnerability of commercial and military satellites of the US and
its allies is now on display after China destroyed an old Chinese
weather satellite in January using an anti-satellite weapon, said the
general.

Gen Moseley highlighted the potential magnitude of the threat, saying
that an attack on another nation's satellite would provide a
legitimate casus belli. "I would say killing another nation's
satellite is an act of war; it's no different than sinking a ship or
killing an airplane," he said.

Of particular concern to Gen Moseley was that China's recent anti-
satellite weapon test - which was preceded by three earlier failed
attempts - was a direct ascent shot fired from a land-based mobile
system. Such systems are a concern because they are difficult for
other nations to target.