Elon Musk Or The ‘Second Oppenheimer’: A Roadmap To US Supremacy In Space – OpEd

[aum]

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on July 14, 2022, with a Cargo Dragon spacecraft aboard for SpaceX's 25th resupply mission to the International Space Station. Credits: NASA TV

 

The world, now saturated with nuclear bombs ready for launch, stands on the brink of witnessing the deployment of laser and nuclear weapons in space. Elon Musk, in collaboration with the Pentagon, is quietly executing plans that could lead to a catastrophe reminiscent of Oppenheimer’s era, transforming fear and destruction into a pervasive reality for the inhabitants of our planet.

 

Oppenheimer is best known for his role in the Manhattan Project and the development of the atomic bomb, later earning the title of the “father of the atomic bomb.” At the Los Alamos Laboratory, he advanced nuclear physics to the point where it could be used for nuclear fission to create atomic weapons. Through his friendship with Albert Einstein, he introduced the atomic bomb to the United States during World War II, facilitating US’s emergence as a superpower. This achievement has ensured American supremacy and leadership from the end of World War II to the present day.

 

Although Japan would have surrendered without the atomic bomb, the United States would not have become the superpower we know today without its deployment. The attainment of the atomic bomb and the apocalyptic display of its destructive power in Japan placed the United States in an absolute position of superiority over its rivals and enemies, making any military confrontation with the U.S. tantamount to suicide for the opposing party.

 

After the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which cemented the United States’ position as the absolute victor of both world wars, Oppenheimer served as a senior advisor on the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission. However, during the hysterical anti-communist period of the Red Scare, he faced serious accusations of being a communist or sympathizer. Upon witnessing the atomic bomb’s destructive power and the massacre in two Japanese cities, he quoted a line from the Bhagavad Gita, saying, “Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds,” reflecting his profound philosophical and ethical understanding of the consequences of his work. In the years following the war, Oppenheimer became an advocate for nuclear disarmament and international control of nuclear weapons, spending his final years warning about the dangers of the technology he had helped create, much like Nobel, the inventor of dynamite.

 

Decades later, as several countries have acquired nuclear weapons, atomic capability no longer guarantees the absolute supremacy of the United States nor Washington’s trump card in the final battle, given the unwavering thirst for supremacy. This time, this quest for dominance is set to take the US into space and beyond Earth’s atmosphere.

 

Currently, Elon Musk is the agent of the United States’ new project, which, behind his innovative activities in space, aims to revive the memories of Oppenheimer. His mission is to ensure US’s absolute supremacy over its rivals in the era of close competition. The world seems to be experiencing a new dimension of power and power-building technologies under the titles of “artificial intelligence” and “space power.” The debate over the competition for “AI-equipped weapons” and “space military equipment” echoes the nuclear competition of Oppenheimer’s era. Ignoring and mismanaging this competition could lead the world to a far greater collective massacre than the combined world wars and multilateral conflicts.

 

Currently, individuals can practically be exploited as agents of war and global security threats, just as Eichmann claimed during his trial in Tel Aviv that he was more of an agent than a culprit. Oppenheimer, whether willingly or unwillingly, became an agent of the policy of building and developing weapons of mass destruction, and it seems that Elon Musk is now being drawn into a similar path.

 

Unlike the saturated effects of nuclear physics in some countries, Elon Musk has turned Americans’ attention to the new domain of technology and space. By founding companies such as Tesla, SpaceX, and Neuralink, he has revolutionized the global industry and pursued development goals concerning human capabilities through technology. However, the issue becomes complicated when we realize that he is not merely pursuing peaceful technologies, and there are other plans behind the scenes.

 

Humanity is now facing a crucial issue involving dual-use tools and technologies. This means that while they appear to serve peaceful purposes, they also have military and security applications. SpaceX, as Musk’s largest technological project, falls into this category of dual-use threats.

 

The U.S. government is currently the most significant customer of SpaceX in terms of weaponry. This company plays a crucial role in US’s wars, particularly in the Ukraine conflict, and has signed contracts with the Pentagon for the services it provides in countering Russia.

The version of SpaceX introduced as “Starshield” is essentially the military version of Starlink, a dual-use application that, under the guise of civilian services, assists the Pentagon. Starshield satellites act as spy machines, capable of being configured for military missions.

 

Additionally, they include satellites for missile tracking, known as Tranche, which were launched by Falcon 9 in March 2023.

 

A battle is currently underway, according to U.S. national security documents, which is set to extend to space supremacy, with Elon Musk serving as the code name for space dominance for the U.S. government. Although Pentagon plans remain highly classified, it has confirmed fundamental changes in military operations in space. After turning Earth into a battleground for everyone against everyone, space is now poised to become the arena for new battles, involving Russia and China competing with the U.S. to target satellites in space.

 

Recent statements from Pentagon officials, as well as the release of declassified documents by the Director of National Intelligence, indicate that Russia and China have also tested and deployed systems such as high-energy ground-based lasers, anti-satellite missiles, or maneuverable satellites that can disrupt U.S. space formations and assets. With the shift of conflicts from Earth to space and the preparation of weapons transitioning from exploratory and defensive stages to offensive ones, we have entered an era where the use of these weapons by any party will ultimately lead to their own destruction, as well as the destruction of humanity and the world.

 

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Edited July 21 by aum