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Rep. Michael R. Turner (R-Ohio), chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, has not yet identified the nature of the threat or the country allegedly carrying it out.
© Ricky Carioti/The Washington Post
In the USA, speculation has arisen about a possible threat to national security.
Because: Russia wants to station a nuclear weapon in space.
Washington, DC - Russia is developing a space-based military system that members of Congress and U.S. officials say could pose a significant threat to the United States and its allies, potentially damaging critical intelligence or communications satellites with a nuclear weapon, according to people familiar with the matter Officer.
Disastrous consequences: Does Russia want to deny the USA and its allies access to space?
The exact nature of the system is unclear.
One person described it as “a new Russian space threat capability.”
Some officials were alarmed after reviewing classified information on Wednesday (Feb. 14), warning of dire consequences;
one member of Congress called it a potential “geostrategic turning point.”
Several lawmakers stressed that there was no immediate danger but called on Joe Biden's administration to take countermeasures soon.
Vladimir Putin's Russian government has experimented with using nuclear explosions or directed energy to knock out satellites, according to a U.S. official who, like others, spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive information.
Experts have expressed fears that a country could detonate a nuclear weapon in space to disrupt satellites by emitting radiation.
Russia has also tested anti-satellite weapons.
After the 2021 launch of a missile that destroyed a Soviet satellite, a senior U.S. military official warned that Russia was “using capabilities to actively deny the United States and its allies access to and use of space.”
After speculation: Lawmakers should examine national security threats
A day of feverish speculation about what the supposed space weapon might be was sparked Wednesday (Feb. 14) by an unusual and cryptic public statement from a top member of Congress calling on lawmakers to release classified information about a "serious national security threat." to consider.
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Rep. Michael R. Turner (R-Ohio), chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, did not specify the nature of the threat or the country allegedly carrying it out.
In a separate letter to House members, Turner and Jim Himes of Connecticut, the top Democrat on the committee, said the committee "has identified an urgent matter regarding a destabilizing foreign military capability that should be known to all policymakers in Congress." “.
Lawmakers said the full committee voted Tuesday (Feb. 13) to make the information available to all House members so they can review it in person in a secure room at the Capitol.
Electronic surveillance of the secret services: a necessary tool or scaremongering?
The information was obtained using powers granted to the intelligence community under Section 702 of a key electronic surveillance law that is hotly debated in Congress, according to officials with knowledge of the matter.
Turner, a strong supporter of surveillance powers, appears to want to use the information about the adversary's capabilities to convince skeptical colleagues that 702 is an essential intelligence tool, one official said.
House Speaker Mike Johnson urged caution and wanted to reassure the public.
© Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP/dpa
Himes cautioned that the information highlighted by Turner was not a matter of “panic now.”
“It is a serious medium- to long-term national security issue that Congress and the administration must focus on,” Himes said.
“But there is no reason to buy gold.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) also urged caution.
“I want to assure the American people that there is no cause for public alarm.
We will work together to resolve this matter, as we do with all sensitive matters that are classified,” he told reporters.
National security adviser plans meetings with Congress and Secret Service
A Capitol Hill aide expressed anger at Turner for informing the public about the information ahead of a planned briefing for top House lawmakers in the "Gang of Eight," who are traditionally privy to some of the most sensitive intelligence information.
Lawmakers in the House and Senate have had the raw data on foreign capabilities for several weeks and are preparing to learn how the administration might respond, this aide said.
Turner's revelation could complicate that response if it reveals information about how the information was obtained in the first place, the adviser said.
Lawmakers in the House and Senate have had raw data on foreign capabilities for several weeks.
© J. Scott Applewhite/AP/dpa
Turner, in his first statement, called on the Biden administration to declassify all information about the threat.
President Biden learned of the threat earlier and ordered national security adviser Jake Sullivan to brief senior lawmakers last week.
“It is, in fact, highly unusual for the national security adviser to do this,” Sullivan told reporters at the White House.
He questioned why Turner made the matter public when Sullivan was scheduled to meet with members of Congress, intelligence and defense officials on Thursday (Feb. 15).
That meeting, Turner said, was scheduled for Thursday.
“I am therefore somewhat surprised that Congressman Turner publicly stated today in advance of the meeting that I will be meeting with him tomorrow along with our intelligence and defense experts.
It’s his choice to do that,” Sullivan said.
Biden administration generously releases intelligence information of national interest
Asked whether the meeting he requested was about the same "serious national security threat" that Turner referred to in his statement, Sullivan said no.
“I’ll leave it up to you to decide what connections you want to draw,” he said.
“I am not in a position to say anything from this podium at this time.
Sullivan added that the Biden administration has “gone further, and in more creative and strategic ways,” to declassify intelligence “in the national interest of the United States than any other administration in history.” But “at the same time, of course, we must continue to prioritize and concentrate very much on the question of sources and methods.”
The Washington Post's Karen DeYoung, Abigail Hauslohner and Marianna Sotomayor contributed to this report.
To the authors
Ellen Nakashima
is a national security reporter for The Washington Post.
She was a member of three Pulitzer Prize-winning teams: in 2022 for investigating the attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, in 2018 for reporting on Russian interference in the 2016 election, and in 2014 for reporting on the hidden extent of government surveillance.
Shane Harris
writes about intelligence and national security.
He was a member of reporting teams that won the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service and two George Polk Awards.
He was also awarded the Gerald R. Ford Prize for Distinguished Reporting on National Defense.
Shane is the author of two books, The Watchers and @War.
John Hudson
is a reporter at The Washington Post covering the State Department and national security.
He was part of the team that was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Public Relations for its coverage of the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
He has reported from dozens of countries including Ukraine, China, Afghanistan, India and Belarus.
We are currently testing machine translations. This article was automatically translated from English into German.
This article was first published in English on February 15, 2024 at the “Washingtonpost.com” - as part of a cooperation, it is now also available in translation to readers of the IPPEN.MEDIA portals.