President Bush's New National Space Policy

Late on a Friday afternoon before the long, Columbus Day weekend, the White House released the first updated space policy in 10 years. The Washington Post ran the story two days ago. It was a stealthy move that brought a long-simmering debate back into the open. Should space be governed by international treaties, or should the US seize the moment to pre-empt an arms race that's all but inevitable? The Bush Administration insists it is not advocating weapons in space, but critics say the new policy is more belligerent than it should be. Others complain that it's not aggressive enough to take advantage of American superiority while there’s still time.