Putin Wants New Monitoring Posts in United States; Obama Administration May Allow

Russia wants to place electronic posts on United States soil and the Obama Administration’s State Department officials don’t see it as a threat.

Roscosmos, the Russian space agency, has been requesting permission to place a number of fence-protected dome-topped, antenna-bristling buildings across the United States. What could go wrong?

The CIA and other national defense agencies have been urging the Obama administration to prevent these facilities from being built, but according to reporting in the New York Times there’s nothing to worry about.

The facilities are being proposed as a way for Russia to combat America’s lead in global positioning technology. The United States has a significant advantage over other countries due to the satellite technology that America has invested in and chosen to deploy. Now Russia and other nations are hoping to equal the playing field with much less of an investment. All they need is our President’s permission.

The buildings are part of Vladimir Putin’s Glonass initiative which, on its face, appears to be a ground based location alternative to Global Positioning Satellite technology offered by the United States.

The concern is that giving Russian national agencies property within the borders of the country will allow them to deploy espionage technologies without much effort.

A key question is what advantage is there for the United States to allow a foreign government to deploy these stations? Why would Americans want to help a foreign power compete with a technology that United States citizens tax money was spent to develop?

Of further concern, although the New York Times fails to mention it, is that Glanoss is a space-based technology. Why would Putin need electronically-laden stations across our country for a satellite technology? The United States didn’t require stations across Russia and China to deploy its location technology.

The Russians are seeking to place a half dozen or more of these “monitoring stations” on American soil. Why would we allow it?

According to the New York Times, a White House State Department official said that “It doesn’t see them as a threat.”

America’s newly weak position on the world stage has consequences. Bring on the Jimmy Carter analogies.