A report by the New York Times claims that the Central Intelligence Agency and the Pentagon have been engaged in trying to stop the State Department from allowing Roscosmos, Russia’s space agency, to construct several monitor stations inside the United States.
While the Times article presents Edward Snowden’s revelations about the massive spying taking place in America on Americans, and seems to indicate that Snowden was some sort of threat, it goes on to point out that the greater threat, and I would add real threat, may come from a “seemingly innocuous dome-topped antenna perched atop an electronics-packed building surrounded by a security fence somewhere in the United States.”
According to the Times:
They fear that these structures could help Russia spy on the United States and improve the precision of Russian weaponry, the officials said. These monitor stations, the Russians contend, would significantly improve the accuracy and reliability of Moscow’s version of the Global Positioning System, the American satellite network that steers guided missiles to their targets and thirsty smartphone users to the nearest Starbucks.
“They don’t want to be reliant on the American system and believe that their systems, like GPS, will spawn other industries and applications,” said a former senior official in the State Department’s Office of Space and Advanced Technology. “They feel as though they are losing a technological edge to us in an important market. Look at everything GPS has done on things like your phone and the movement of planes and ships.”
The Russian effort is part of a larger global race by several countries — including China and European Union nations — to perfect their own global positioning systems and challenge the dominance of the American GPS.
For the State Department, permitting Russia to build the stations would help mend the Obama administration’s relationship with the government of President Vladimir V. Putin, now at a nadir because of Moscow’s granting asylum to Mr. Snowden and its backing of President Bashar al-Assad of Syria.
Anyone recall that little hot mic conversation last year between Barack Obama and former Russian President Dmitri Medvedev, in which he asked Medvedev to communicate to incoming President Vladimir Putin to give him “space” until after his election, when he would “have more flexibility”? It does make you wonder just what that was really all about, now doesn’t it?
Not only is the CIA and the Pentagon against the monitor stations, but they claim they would provide the Russians with greater accuracy in pinpointing satellite-steered weapons, as well as providing an opening to spy within US borders.
Apparently, there is at least some concern on Capitol Hill as well, as there should be. The concern is over Glonass (Global Navigation Satellite System), Russia’s global positioning network.
“I would like to understand why the United States would be interested in enabling a GPS competitor, like Russian Glonass, when the world’s reliance on GPS is a clear advantage to the United States on multiple levels,” said Representative Mike D. Rogers, Republican of Alabama, the chairman of a House Armed Services subcommittee.
Putin has had the monitor stations as a priority for several years. Earlier this year, a Russian station was placed in Brazil, and according to Russian news reports, Spain, Indonesia and Australia are all expected to have them placed in their countries as well.
While the US has several such monitoring stations around the world, we do not have any in Russia.
While many continue to believe the Cold War is over, there are several, including the author (due in large part of John A. Stormer’s work None Dare Call it Treason) that believes the Cold War merely appeared dormant as most of the Communists decided for a more deceptive means, which has been written on in several articles here at Freedom Outpost.
The CIA considers these a threat. I think they are correct. On the other hand, John Kerry’s State Department says there’s absolutely nothing to worry about. A State Department official said, “It doesn’t see them as a threat.”
Remember, this is the same State Department that didn’t see a real threat in Benghazi either.
While most of us are not very trusting of the federal government and its own spying, I think most of us can agree that we don’t really trust the State Department’s judgment when it comes to accessing threats under the Obama administration either. In fact, it appears quite clear to me that this is a huge national security risk, and even treason.
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