[GeoStL] Re: Bush Prepares for Possible GPS Shutdown
- From: JimSGreene@xxxxxxx
- To: geocaching@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Thu, 16 Dec 2004 10:05:15 EST
-
Here is the article:
Posted on Wed, Dec. 15, 2004
Bush Prepares for Possible GPS Shutdown
TED BRIDIS
Associated Press
WASHINGTON - President Bush has ordered plans for temporarily disabling the
U.S. network of global positioning satellites during a national crisis to
prevent terrorists from using the navigational technology, the White House
said
Wednesday.
Any shutdown of the network inside the United States would come under only
the most remarkable circumstances, said a Bush administration official who
spoke to a small group of reporters at the White House on condition of
anonymity.
The GPS system is vital to commercial aviation and marine shipping.
The president also instructed the Defense Department to develop plans to
disable, in certain areas, an enemy's access to the U.S. navigational
satellites
and to similar systems operated by others. The European Union is developing
a $4.8 billion program, called Galileo.
The military increasingly uses GPS technology to move troops across large
areas and direct bombs and missiles. Any government-ordered shutdown or
jamming
of the GPS satellites would be done in ways to limit disruptions to
navigation and related systems outside the affected area, the White House said.
"This is not something you would do lightly," said James A. Lewis, director
of technology policy for the Washington-based Center for Strategic and
International Studies. "It's clearly a big deal. You have to give them credit
for
being so open about what they're going to do."
President Clinton abandoned the practice in May 2000 of deliberately
degrading the accuracy of civilian navigation signals, a technique known as
"selective availability."
The White House said it will not reinstate that practice, but said the
president could decide to disable parts of the network for national security
purposes.
The directives to the Defense Department and the Homeland Security
Department were part of a space policy that Bush signed this month. It
designates the
GPS network as a critical infrastructure for the U.S. government. Part of the
new policy is classified; other parts were disclosed Wednesday.
The White House said the policies were aimed at improving the stability and
performance of the U.S. navigation system, which Bush pledged will continue
to be made available for free.
The U.S. network is comprised of more than two dozen satellites that act as
beacons, sending location-specific radio signals that are recognized by
devices popular with motorists, hikers, pilots and sailors.
Bush also said the government will make the network signals more resistant
to deliberate or inadvertent jamming.
Let's make sure everyone is busy digging holes anyway.
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