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POLICY PERSPECTIVES

COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Hearings on Future U.S.Space Programs
January 24,25 & 26,1978

Howard G. Kurtz, President

War Control Planners, Inc
Box 19127, Washington D.C.20036

Chairman Olin E. Teague

For a very few more years the United States will have a dominant world
lead in the science and technology race, as exemplified in the field of
the pro-human, life-supporting space satellite systems. The choice of
whether humanity will have a worthwhile future may well rest, at the
moment, in the hands of the President of the United States and of the
majority of the Members of the House of Representatives and the Senate,
as they face the imperative to clarify, before it is too late, the
goals and commitments of the U.S. Space Program, which in turn must
be fully in focus with the as-yet-undecided U.S. long range strategic
objective, or answer to the question "What Kind of Future World Order
are the American People Trying to Create ?"

As the Congress now clarifies, or refuses to clarify, U.S. long range
global objectives to guide U.S. space programs for the coming generation,
this no longer is a matter of concern only for the American people. This
Congressional action is of deep concern to the future generations of
all 150 sovereign nations on Planet Earth.

In response to your invitation, I submit for pro and con and creative discussion just a few highlights from more than twenty years study, work, observation, writing and editing in the field of the ever-expanding Kremlin/White House science and technology and strategic power race, working jointly with my wife Harriet until her death on June 17,1977.

Discussion is invited under the following headings:

(Policy Perspectives cont.)

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I. COLLAPSE OF TRADITIONAL NATIONAL SECURITY CONCEPTS

II. CONGRESSIONAL PREOCCUPATION WITH IMMEDIATE PROBLEMS

III. THE PENDULUM SWING IN THE PROGRESS OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

IV. WHICH NATION WILL PROVIDE WORLD-WIDE INSPIRATION FOR THE FUTURE ?

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Throughout recorded history tribes and nations have based their defense planning on a commitment to increase their powers to kill enemies who threatened. There has been no other valid basic assumption. But a historic era has been collapsing for more than two decades, as the top-of-the-line strategic weapons on both sides have become capable, if unleashed, of annihilating both sides and much 9 or most, of world populations. Now like passengers in two giant airplanes flying toward each other in a cloud, the citizens of both sides of modern war face the prospect of obliteration. There no longer is an increased sense of security in public attitudes toward escalating military budgets. Finding new strategic concepts and objectives has become imperative. The awesome breakthrough into Space Power has been a by-product of this science and technology race between the superpowers. In a new sense the leap into the Space Age dwarfs the earlier breakthrough into the Nuclear Age, because it has provided humankind with an unprecedented cosmic choice ... a choice of life or death for humanity .. .a moral choice. On the one hand space power can enhance the probabilities of the final holocaust, by holding the weapons of extermination over the heads of all human beings, like the Sword of Damocles hanging over every man and woman by a thin human hair with the competitive preparations for future space war. The NAVSTAR satellite navigation complex for which the Congress has authorized funds for some years, will be able to drop a nuclear bomb, or an ordinary bomb, or a firecracker within thirty feet of any chosen target on Earth, by unmanned missiles or aircraft.

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On the other hand the NAVSTAR space program can provide precise navigation aid for
the public safety in all land, sea and air transport, everywhere on Earth. These
and many other earth-orbiting military and civilian, intelligence and communications
satellite systems can become the unprecedented pro-human global power tools, with
which to begin building the foundations for a future civilized world-wide management
complex capable of stabilizing international relations without threats of war, as
the satellites also assist all nations in their struggles for the production of food,
clothing, housing, energy, clean air & water, health, education and national security
for all populations held within prudent limits. I will provide concrete examples
on following pages.

(Policy Perspectives cont.)

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II.

CONGRESSIONAL PREOCCUPATION WITH IMMEDIATE PROBLEMS

Mentioned in sympathy and not in criticism, due to the increasing pressures and crises Members of Congress have become somewhat like persons trapped in the hold of a burning, sinking vessel at sea beating frantically at nearby hot flames

...

with inadequate brooms... unable to force their attentions on the complex problem of building a fire-proof boat or a crisis-proof world order.

The White House has never told the Congress the answer to the question What Kind of Future World Order are we Trying to Create ?".

At least publicly, the Congress has never asked.

III,

THE PENDULUM SWING IN THE PROGRESS OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Advancing science and technology and management skills which made possible production of jet bombers to kill people at unprecedented magnitudes and distances, then made possible the historic pendulum swing in the opposite direction, to the production of jet transport planes bringing people closer together into new world community.

Similarly the Soviet/American science and technology race producing global systems of death, destruction and extermination, has now reached the historic moment when a pendulum swing in the opposite direction is feasible for the first time in history, for the gradual development and pragmatic testing of world-wide war prevention systems and life support systems for all nations.

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The Chief Executive of and the Board of Directors of a corporation producing jet bombers. .,and no one below these officials. .can make the executive decision butilize the same scientists and engineers and specialists in all fields, produce, instead, jet transport planes to serve the needs of world civilization. Similarly, the President of the United States and the Congress . . .and no one in the U.S. power structures below these men and women in Government. .can make the executive decision to lead the world in the coming generation in the research and development and public demonstration of world-sized systems and structures and legal institutions, to guard the security, independence and development of all nations (somewhat as Air Traffic Control guards the safety and forward progress of all airplanes in a cloud).

I am attaching as an appendix to this document, for the purpose of stimulating creative discussion, the projection of but one concrete example of such an executive decision which can be made by the President and Congress without further delay. The discussion agenda was published in December 1973 issue of SPECTRUM, Journal of the 160,000 member Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers - IEEE - under the title " A GLOBAL INFORMATION COOPERATIVE". This is the projection of greatly increased programs for military and civilian earth-orbiting, life-serving satellite services to provide intelligence and information and communications to help the people of all nations in their struggles for security, independence and development. I will provide many specific examples of these services in a moment.

(Policy Perspectives cont.)

IV. WHICH NATION WILL PROVIDE WORLD-WIDE INSPIRATION FOR THE FUTURE ?

There are about 150 sovereign nations on the planet. The patriotic people of these nations have not attached their support to either Kremlin or White House side of the self-generating race for power to threaten the consumption of scarce energies and resources for the inflationary production of the power to destroy world populations. Any politician can understand this world public "gut reaction".

The nation which will deserve world leadership in the coming era will be the superpower with leadership vision and human concern great enough to (1) meet all requirements for its own national defense and in addition (2) set the pace for a next generation competition to develop anddemonstrate and establish the operational feasibility of world-sized systems and institutions to serve the basic needs of all nations. The earth-serving satellite systems and services can provide the leading edge for eventual breakthrough into a new Age of Compassionate Power. will be the most complex and difficult challenge civilization ever has faced.

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Making Planet Earth safe for human futures will dwarf the difficulties of making the Moon safe for human visits. But all essential elements with which to begin the historic effort are within reach of the President and Congress. The life-preserving satellite systems have been developed, and tested, and proven and within reach of those in authority in the U.S. Government.

titled OUTLOOK FOR SPACE.

Over a year ago NASA chose twenty of its key executives to work together for a year, inviting opinions from hundreds of outside sources, to project the long range future for U.S. space programs. The exhaustive report to the Administrator was As this creative team turned in this study to the Administrator, I believe you will find that the group made a strong private recommendation to him that the "applications" budgets for research and development should be raised from about two hundred million dollars a year, to about six hundred million dollars a year. to place these humanity-serving development programs on an equal level with the space science and manned spectacular research and development budgets.

These recommendations by the NASA long range planning experts have been ignored. The Office of Management and Budget apparently has imposed the discipline to keep the NASA budget request to the Congress for these earth-serving satellite applications down to the traditional, highly inadequate figures. Congress has been too preoccupied with near-by. flames to try to find the long range national security interest.

The moment is here.

The U.S. has the capabilities. As President Kennedy refocused American public opinion beyond the Cuban Invasion fiasco by the public commitment of American creativity and power to make the Moon safe for human visits. . . .today President Carter and Congress can refocus the world-wide yearning for leadership toward an end to war, sparked by President Sadat and Prime Minister Begin, by an awe-inspiring commitment of American creativity and power and character to the unprecedented task of developing world-sized systems and institutions to guard the security and independence and progress of all nations.

Missing only is the vision and commitment by the President and Congress.

(Policy Perspectives cont.)

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V.

U.S.GRAND STRATEGY THE AMERICAN PEOPLE CAN GRASP AND SUPPORT

If the American people are to be spared the hopelessness of runaway world crisis, like a successful football coach the President and Congress will have to maintain two different kinds of superior strategic power.

For many years the President and Congress will have to maintain superior defense power, to prevent opposing hostile powers from breaking through to their goal of world dominion. But a nation, or a football team, with nothing more than defense strategy, in time will lose the confrontation. In addition ...

The President and Congress will have to create and maintain superior forward power gradually in the coming years to move all power confrontations down the field toward the distant goal of a civilized world community of nations, far more complex and effective than the present United Nations, capable of guarding the security and independence and development of all nations, large and small.

A large sector of America will continue to work in the defense platoons, defending the United States against clear and present dangers from hostile foreign powers. Without a strong defense power the American people face disaster and tragedy.

And in addition . .

A large sector of America will be released and channeled in the forward platoons, as the President and Congress make a large scale, long range, sustained commitment before the whole world to an unprecedented generation of creativity and new fields of research and development and testing and demonstration of the prototype models of the future LIFE SUPPORT SYSTEMS FOR PLANET EARTH, serving the basic needs of all nations .with the same boldness and inventiveness and determination displayed by America in the past generation's world leadership developing powers of global death and calamity and extermination.

In recent years in America the "softliners" and the "hardliners" have been fighting each other, further weakening the United States as it has been losing its world influence. But under the projected new U.S. Grand Strategy the "doves" and the "hawks" the "softliners" and the "hardliners" the defense platoons

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and the forward platoons, will be playing on the same team for a change, striving during the coming generation to lead the nations of the world toward the goal of new world institutions within which science and technology (knowledge and skills in all fields) will be harnessed to serve the needs of humanity, rather than producing the power to rupture or destroy world civilization.

Just as a stimulant to creative imagination, on later pages I will show a few concrete examples of the forward platoons leading the world in the development of lifeserving satellite systems.

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The following are a few highlights of space programs already proven, and readily available for a new world statesmanship.

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