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NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--The Air Force, saying it must secure space to protect
the nation from attack, is seeking President Bush's approval of a
national-security directive that could move the United States closer to
fielding offensive and defensive space weapons, according to White House and
Air Force officials, The New York Times reports in its Wednesday edition.

A senior administration official said that a new presidential directive would
replace a 1996 Clinton administration policy that emphasized a more pacific use
of space, including spy satellites' support for military operations, arms
control and nonproliferation pacts, according to the Times.

A presidential directive is expected within weeks, said the senior
administration official, who is involved with space policy and insisted that he
not be identified because the directive is still under final review and the
White House has not disclosed its details, according to the Times.

Air Force officials said yesterday that the directive, which is still in
draft form, did not call for militarizing space, according to the Times. "The
focus of the process is not putting weapons in space," said Maj. Karen Finn, an
Air Force spokeswoman, who said that the White House, not the Air Force, makes
national policy.


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

05-17-05 2330ET

23:30 051705