President Joe Biden announced today that Space Command would remain in Colorado, citing military readiness as the rationale in a decision that was sure to infuriate half the people involved.
The decision reverses an order from Donald Trump that the command move its permanent base to Huntsville, Alabama from its temporary headquarters in Colorado.
The loser was always going to say that Biden was playing politics.
Given that the loser is Alabama, politicians from Alabama say it has to do with “far-left abortion politics.”
The decision was made on what the President believed was in the country’s best interests, and every factor that went into his thinking was his prerogative to make.
It will be fascinating to await whether Rep. Lauren Boebert lets anything positive about Biden’s decision slip from her mouth.
The official rationale is brought to us by the Associated Press report:
“U.S. officials told The Associated Press on Monday that Biden was convinced by the head of Space Command, Gen. James Dickinson, who argued that moving his headquarters now would jeopardize military readiness. Dickinson’s view, however, was in contrast to Air Force leadership, who studied the issue at length and determined that relocating to Huntsville, Alabama, was the right move.”
The head of Space Command recommended staying in Colorado, which contrasted with Air Force Leadership.
Why the Air Force’s leadership should be given greater weight than the guy who is head of the command is left to the consideration of the reader.
This readiness is extremely important. After all, it was only six months ago that an Air Force General predicted war with China in 2025 — based in part on a possible internal war in the United States for control of the government.
In other words, General Mike Minihan anticipates that the American government will be busy trying to figure out who has the authority to send carriers into the Tawainese Straight.
The readiness is made even more important by the fact that the next war will be fought in space every bit as much as on the ground.
Instead of having your area bombed because it’s near a military facility, your satellite will be knocked out, and the net and phones will be unreliable.
When you need your prescription from Walgreens, the computers won’t work. UPS packages will take a week because there’s no GPS to use. Your phone would be near worthless. See how that works?
It is a communication bomb, and people will die. (Yes, aircraft carriers will also be primary targets for hypersonic missiles. There will be that kind of war, too.)
But none of that matters to politicians in Alabama. Rep. Mike Rogers, R-AL, said, “This fight is far from over.”
Interesting. When did this guy become Commander in Chief? Is he going to fight the president?
This is actually one of those things that Congress actually doesn’t control.
You know that Sen. Tommy Tuberville would have something to say, and he noted that three states were also considered, Alabama, Texas, and Nebraska, and then saying, “This is blatant politics.” And that Biden was “buying votes.”
“Blatant politics,” says the man who won’t allow any officer promotions in the entire military due to his “blatant politics.” Get bent, Tub.
President Biden doesn’t need to “buy votes” in Colorado. He won there in 2020 by a margin of 13.5%.
Additionally, the military tends to be conservative. Thus, Biden is keeping more conservative votes in Colorado.
If Biden wanted to “buy votes,” he would’ve moved it to Nebraska. He might’ve had a shot at turning it purplish, maybe blue.
NORAD is located just 40 miles away in Colorado, and they always monitor “space” The original Space Command headquarters were set in Colorado.
Whatever this is, it isn’t “blatant politics.” Biden didn’t move it to Atlanta!
A better question should be put to Trump and why the United States needed a “Space Force” to begin with.
If a rocket goes up with human beings in it, that sounds like a “ship” and could’ve been under the Navy. If a rocket went up and went hypersonic without people, that sounds like an ICBM which has always been under the Air Force (at least from land).
There are people who believe that the United States has had dozens of military personnel in space at all times for decades. It is not that insane an assumption.
It would make sense to Sun Tzu, what with the “high ground and all.”
And there’s a good case that the readiness factor was the primary justification for Biden’s decision.
If this country is going to war with China, it could happen in 2025, and it wouldn’t be good if the command was in the middle of a move.
Colorado officials praised the decision, as cited in AP’s report:
Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-CO) said in a statement.
“For two and a half years we’ve known any objective analysis of this basing decision would reach the same conclusion we did, that Peterson Space Force Base is the best home for Space Command.”
“Most importantly, this decision firmly rejects the idea that politics — instead of national security — should determine basing decisions central to our national security.”
There was a very serious case to be made that Trump wanted Space Command moved to a red state for political reasons, given he made the decision in January 2021.
Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO) said the decision “restores integrity to the Pentagon’s basing process and sends a strong message that national security and the readiness of our Armed Forces drive our military decisions.”
And for those Republicans who say “abortion politics” played a role, the logical response is, “So what?”
Alabama’s attorney general is busy making it a crime to aid and abet someone else getting an abortion. Is he going to arrest the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs?
Women are a critical part of our fighting force. Some are in stable situations and want a family. Some are not.
The point is it’s always a woman’s choice. That favors Colorado, and if you don’t like it, change your state’s law.
Whether we needed a separate Space Command itself is of no matter. Readiness is a critical matter. Biden would take criticism no matter what or how he decided.
And to Rep. Mike Rogers, R-AL, saying, “This fight is far from over”?
No, it is over. You don’t get to decide. You can investigate all you want. If President Biden was paid $250 million to keep the base in Colorado, you impeach him. But the Command stays.
Unless you’re planning a war in the United States in 2025, that is.
This column is based on original reporting by Lolita Baldor and Tara Copp at the Associated Press.
I can be reached at jasonmiciak@gmail.com and on Twitter “X” @JasonMiciak.
Editor’s Note: This is an opinion piece reflecting the opinion of the author alone
