HIGH seas and outer space have been free of conflict during peace time. After commanding the seas, the US has now embarked upon plans to extend its exclusive jurisdiction to space.

President Donald Trump has decided to set up a separate space command. ‘Space Force’ will be the sixth branch of the American military. Secretary of Defence James Mattis opposed it and wrote a letter to Senator John McCain, the head of the Senate armed-services committee, to put his point of view on record.

The space command will make it easier to intercept enemy missiles and jam rival communications and command-and-control centres.

In 2011, the US carried out Osama bin Laden-related operation Neptune Spear with impunity and Pakistan became aware of the operation only after US itself told us that it was over. Israel’s home-made Iron Dome defence system is so efficient it identified and intercepted all the 36 missiles fired from Gaza at Israel.

India too is quite advanced in space research. It has sent a mission into Mars orbit. It intercepted Pervez Musharraf’s conversation with his army colleagues, while he was still in Chinese airspace. Just imagine Indians knew the frequency he was on.

Till recently, we treated gung-ho declaration of ‘surgical strikes’ by Indian military commanders as bragging swaggers. Now, Indian news media corroborates ‘strikes’ with thermal images.

Nikhat Shaheen

Islamabad

Published in Dawn, August 20th, 2018