Weapons in Space (9/99)
The Persian Gulf War convinced the US military that "space dominance and space control" were necessary. Using its satellite supremacy, the Pentagon pre-targeted Iraq’s vital military installations, and hit over 90 percent of its targets within the first few hours. This gave the US the ability to control the entire battlefield. The rest of the war was essentially an opportunity to test new weapons systems.
Afterward, Pentagon spokespersons predicted that if other enemies could be prevented from gaining access to military space assets, the US could dominate any battlefield situation. An urgent call went out for anti-satellite weapons that could knock out competitors’ eyes and ears. Less than a decade later, the war in Kosovo was used to show the world that the goal has been achieved.