WASHINGTON — The White House on Feb. 15 confirmed reports that Russia is developing an anti-satellite weapon capability, describing it as a serious threat. However, the administration insists that the weapon is not yet operational and does not pose an imminent danger.
The White House was forced to address the anti-satellite threat intelligence after House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Turner (R-Ohio) publicly urged President Biden on Feb. 14 to declassify the information so the implications could be discussed openly in Congress and with U.S. allies.
The president’s national security communications adviser John Kirby told reporters at a White House news conference that the administration had been tracking these developments for several weeks but intended to keep the information secret as it developed a strategy to share it with the public.
Kirby said the intelligence community has “serious concerns” about fully declassifying details at this stage.
However, following Turner’s remarks, news outlets began reporting extensively on the alleged Russian anti-satellite weapon. This reporting put pressure on the White House to confirm the intelligence.
“The administration did not give a green light for this information to get public yesterday,” Kirby said. “We were eventually going to get to a point where we were going to be able to share it with the American people. But this is not an imminent threat. It’s not an active capability that is yet deployed.”
“And though Russia’s pursuit of this particular capability is troubling, there is no immediate threat to anyone’s safety,” Kirby said.
He said intelligence officials have raised concerns about fully declassifying the intelligence over protecting sources and methods. Before Turner’s disclosure, said Kirby, there had been discussions about “downgrading” the level of classification. “The information regrettably found its way into the…
Read the full article here