MILITARY/NATO/NORTH KOREA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Unveiling a revamped missile defense plan, President Donald Trump said Thursday [1-17-19] that the United States is prepared to make use of space as a potential battleground…While providing few details, Trump again spoke of developing a ‘space force’ as a new branch of the military, saying that ‘we will recognize that space is a new war fighting domain with the space force leading the way.’ Trump also again warned Iran against seeking to develop offensive missiles. The president said he hopes the United States never has to use space weapons, but there are ‘some very bad players out there. And we’re a good player – but we can be far worse than anybody, if need be’…Less than a week after news reports that Trump once mused about trying to withdraw the United States from the European military alliance, Trump said ‘we’re going to be with NATO 100 percent,’ and is willing to sell missile defense technology to allies. He also again demanded that countries like Germany ‘step up’ and pay more for their own national defense, saying ‘we cannot be the fool for others.’ While Trump claimed that defense spending by various NATO countries was declining before he took office, it has actually been on the rise for years. While criticizing Iran as an adversary, Trump did mention another rival interested in missiles: North Korea.”
–David Jackson, “Space Force: President Trump says he wants a ‘space-based missile defense layer’,” USA Today, January 17, 2019 2:42 pm