Missal Defence

For anyone thinking sanctuary was only about gorrillas in the mist or guerrillas hit and missed, something interesting from The Economist: "The Militarization of Space: Disharmony in the Spheres." The Economist  (19-25 Jan 2008), p. 23-25. The report gets into US military reliance on satellites, and the stability of space – the literal, empty version, not in the sense of  a place imbued with meaning. As an operating environment for them, the newspaper writes, it’s become an increasingly chaotic piece of ethe-real estate, sometimes by design, and especially of late. In the contest for influence and control over the void, states such as China have been taking measures to assert their own access and control, meanwhile working to disrupt that of others. "The only conclusion," notes The Economist, quoting a Pentagon official, is that ‘space is no longer a sanctuary; it is a contested domain’." Sure, I’ll bite, and others have suggested as much before. The argument that sanctuaries are uncontested domains, though, isn’t exactly accurate – but I digress….