At Defense Industry Daily, one of my time sinks is research. Defense is a very technical field that requires broad background understanding, specific knowledge, and careful research in order to create a readable, understandable article that avoids gratuitous mistakes.
The odd mistake is pretty much inevitable. Over at DefenseTech.org, however, Bush un-fan Noah Shachtman notes that the New York Times May 18, 2005 article "Air Force Seeks Bush's Approval for Space Weapons Programs" is riddled with major errors and distortions from beginning to end. The fisking commences.
If you're wondering why our major media screw up so often when writing military-related stories, see Winds of Change.NET's Military Blindness in the Media - And Beyond.
General Arnold of the SMC calls our space capabilities an 'assymetric advantage'.
The vision is to transform our 'advantage' in space from dominance to outright ownership.
There are several really amazing programs coming down the pipe. The coolest in my opinion (not offensive related) is Space Based Radar. Think of it as an unblinking eye that can track any moving object on earth at any time.
The ramifications are staggering.
In order to exploit and leverage this advantage, we must ensure that we are free from attack and have the freedom to attack.