For the record, the US has repeatedly refused to discuss proposals to ban anti-satellite (ASAT) weapons, partly out of fear that any agreement would constrain missile defenses (which are basically the same thing) and partly because we have our own ASATs. We chose this.
The Bush Administration was so afraid that any discussion of ASATs would require discussing missile defenses, that it didn't even try to stop China from conducting an ASAT test in 2007 -- even though China conducted a number of dry-runs.
nytimes.com/2007/04/23/was…
nytimes.com/2007/04/23/was…
And even after the EU developed a "code of conduct" on space activities that called on states to refrain from debris-creating ASAT tests, the Obama Administration still rejected it.
nationaldefensemagazine.org/articles/2012/…
nationaldefensemagazine.org/articles/2012/…
As for Trump, one of things that really excites supporters of the #SpaceForce is the language in SPD-4 about "projecting military power in, from, and to space." What those supporters say is that this will lead to new US ASATS.
freebeacon.com/national-secur…
freebeacon.com/national-secur…
So, to be clear, the US is no better than China, Russia or India. All of these states have developed debris creating ASATS that would pose an enormous danger to all space-faring states if they were ever used. All of them should be condemned for doing so.
