Comments on: The dark side of Galileo

The EU wants its Galileo satellite system to dominate the "high ground" of space, according to a report worried about the European military-industrial complex.

[mogwai73]

I don't understand why anyone finds worrying that someone else becomes independent regarding their own information; I just wished Nigeria, Korea, Malta, Kiribati, Mexico, Solomon Islands, Honduras, New Zealand, Togo, Eritrea, Madagascar and everyone else in the planet had the means to manage their own information without depending on foreign countries.

All monopolies must end.

If someone decides to allow another entity to take care of its internal information (may it be related to air space, intelligence, military, etc.), it's ok. But, by default, having a foreign entity managing your data... it's not freedom. IMHO, it's not.

[lmasanti]

Is "author Frank Slijper" American?

What a coincidence that when "Goerge W.'s war" was voted against (in the form of Obama's triumph) someone begins heralding that "the new enemy is Europe"!

Find an enemy!

Obama was telling the world that American must become a friendly citizen of the world, not the master of war... but some companies must lost their contracts if there is not many wars everywhere.

This old Eisenhower's times militar-industrial complex is so high now that is like cancer cells...

[Seaspray0]

Better yet, have the USA declare war on Waldo. Just think of all the manpower that could be focused just to find out where he's at! Where's Waldo! No... wait... we're already doing something like that. Where's Bin Ladin.

[tvank]

Read the report. He's Dutch

[Dalkorian]

LOL - we know where bin laden is. What makes you think we're looking for him?

[DragonWizard]

Actually we SPEND money to protect you.. Just think ... if we only bothered to protect ourselves how much we would NOT need as much money.. Europeans act like they PAY us to protect them.. what a joke.. you can'r even pay your part of the UN let alone defend yourselves with your own money.. here is the irony of it all, if you are paying us to protect you with all of this stuff just so WE MAKE MONEY then you must have asked us to do so or you wouldn't pay for it and if your not paying us then we should just pull out and quit spending OUR MONEY in the first place...then why would we need wars to make the money to spend on wars.. OH and at the mention of Eisenhower.. you remember that guy.. the one who saved your backsides the last time you tried to protect yourselves.. HA HA HA.. you make no sense at all..

[EuropeOrBust]

DragonWizard;

If you care to research the budget of the United Nations you will find that European member states provide at least 8% more to the coffers than do the United States.

[aj37viggen]

It's fine to be a "friendly citizen" if all the other citizens are friendly, too. But suppose they aren't...?

Imagine a rogue group with a nuclear weapon, a vehicle to deliver it, and a desire to attack the United States with it. Obviously Americans don't want them using our own GPS satellites to guide their weapon to its target, and the US military can use its control over GPS to counteract that possibility.

Now with Galileo, this hypothetical group has an alternative guidance system. In such a scenario, would Europe allow its system to be used for a nuclear attack against the US to buy its own safety against terrorist reprisals? Recent experience with European governments (e.g. Spain) caving in to terrorist demands suggests this isn't at all a far-fetched possibility.

[renGek]

The same rogue group could just as well do the same to US gps networks no? We just believe we are more secure and stable than the europeans. But maybe they are better at it than we are. Maybe not.

[Dalkorian]

There's a lot if "imagine" and "hypothetical" in your argument. Using those terms I could make virtually any case I like. Safety is relative, you could live in fear of "turrists" for years only to get hit by a bus walking home. A meteor could come crashing through your roof killing all inside any second now. Quick, reinforce your basement as a bomb shelter, lock yourself in there and hope for the best! Oops - mold, food poisoning, sickness or radon is the threat now!

Absolute safety only comes to those who are already dead. You argument is one enormous straw man, soaked in gasoline.

[lmasanti]

Of course, the following examples are not officially sanctioned by the official history...

-1917 sinking of the ship Lusitania... A passanger's ship in a war zone? Led US to enter WWI.
-1941 Pearl Harbor's attack... Were the US intelligence agencies dumb? Led US to enter WWII.
-9/11....

Maybe... somebody wants to be [indefinitly] in war...

[KTLA_knew]

Pointing at the sacrifice that the US made in WWII as a sign that "somebody wants to be in war" is sickening.

[USHawkmoon]

Why the anti-US slant? As if the US wants conflict with Europe, our close allies. This report was written by an anti-militaristic Dutch think-tank. The US already offers ALL European militaries usage of GPS guided weapons via NATO membership. GPS guidance has no impact on nuclear scenarios. Nukes don't need GPS or Galileo they are not precision weapons. GPS/Galileo guidance impacts tactical military operations only. Is anyone suggesting that the US would cutoff GPS with European troops in the field? That action would directly cost the lives of EU soldiers. WE don't do that to our allies.
Please let's have some realism in your comments rather than fantasizing about the coming US vs. EU WWW III scenario. If you want that then play some videogames....

[madprof44]

It is up the the Europeans how to spend their defense budgets, if they want to engage in a high-tech policy of import-substitution it is up to them. And they well may need a system such as this. American support for underwriting security in Europe and West Asia is declining rapidly across the board. The consensus that underpinned American commitments is gone, and much of the security that Europe has come to think as natural is on the verge of requiring their own work, money, and blood. It has long been said - and with some truth - that Republicans are the party of the Pacific and Democrats the party of the Atlantic. L'empire Américaine fantasies aside, I suspect we'll see Democrats as much as Republicans moving to pull back as quickly as possible from Europe. All our objectives on the continent have been achieved and Europe certainly has the means to police its own neighborhood. I doubt very much they'll like the look of it when the time comes but the moment is approaching faster than many in Europe think. As a Democrat with an interest in security issues myself, my own view is goodbye and best of luck, you're going to need this stuff.

[ce573]

It's OK for the USA to have a global military positioning system, but no one else must have it (especially not the EU)..??
Why does the USA have 600,000 troops OUTSIDE the USA in foreign bases? Who voted them "the world's hope" anyway?

[DragonWizard]

You all do everytime you blame us because we didn't step in and save some poor shmuck from get his backside burned by whatever newest bully is picking on them.. I wish we could just let you all protect yourselves as it would certainly save us a lot of money... Everytime we DON'T intervene you all start calling us names because we DON'T step in...personally I am an isolationist like my ancesters were during world war 1 and world war 2.. We saw how good you all were at protecting yourselves then didn't we.. so PLEASE.. have your own system... but don't scream for us when you start getting you backsides kicked OK???

[weylandYutani]

Look, in the end, the United States and Europe are not going to go to war in the foreseeable future, and on top of that, the reason *why* we're so dependant on the United States - as far as space tech goes - is that they do have several decades more experience than just about every other country on the planet. It may be useful having an ally with these capabilities, but it's also handy when you can do it in-house.

So quit whining about either the americans and their pretty toys or the europeans trying to catch up, either way, there is logic behind it all.

And american intervention, while not quite what people want, is actually making a difference - hidden agenda or no - in the lives of people who would be living under circumstances far worse than what they are now. Don't expect miracles, such things are difficult to be sure, but they're making an effort. Let's not talk about rights, whose right it is to govern things like this. Far worse invasions and attacks by many other countries have occured for all kinds of reasons, enough of them unsavory. What it all comes down to, is that americans and their allies are fighting and dying, these people are risking everything in the name of a better life for others. (Contradict me all you want, but the previous regimes were far worse than american occupation.)