Will the U.S. defend their "sovereignty" of the Moon?

I know that there are International treaties regarding the Moon that state that it is to be shared by all mankind. And I know that there are International treaties that "assure" that Outer Space will be free of weapons. But, if push came to shove on Earth, would'nt it be plausible -- and justifiable -- to expect that Outer Space and the Moon will be next battlefield? I could not help but notice that shortly after China began developing a serious Space Program; with planned manned missions towards Earth Orbits and an ultimate goal of a Lunar Landing, that President Bush announced a new dedication towards returning to the Moon. A new Space Race is on and the question arises; Will the U.S. protect her "sovereignty" of the Moon?

Most people on this site would argue we never landed on the moon, it was a hoax.

Assuming we did, I think it is time to deploy troops. No one can take the moon from America, it is obviously ours. Like it is possible to "claim" something like that. Too bad it doesn't have a native species that we could slaughter, before we take it over and develop all the land, universal manifest destiny.

[edit on 8-5-2005 by Eyeofhorus]

[edit on 8-5-2005 by Eyeofhorus]

the US have no sovereignty on the moon. It has not been annexed or claimed by any nation to be theirs. The only people who have claimed it are fools who bought into the acreage buying in the 90s.

thanks,
drfunk

It is a certainty that we will expand our civilisation into space and it is inevitable that we will fight over land in the future, i dont see it as a huge problem though as there is plenty to go around in an infinate universe

Originally posted by ufo3
It is a certainty that we will expand our civilisation into space and it is inevitable that we will fight over land in the future, i dont see it as a huge problem though as there is plenty to go around in an infinate universe

Keeping in mind that the universe is only as infinite as our technology allows.....we don't have warp drive yet.....our obtainable universe is really quite limited. Right now, the U.S. has a claim on the moon in the sense that they landed their for all humankind. However, let's say the Chinese landed there, who decides what the rules are? If Chinese interests on the moon conflict with those of the U.S. lunar interests, could this lead to a war on the surface of the Moon?

I would think any kind of "war" on the Moon between countries of Earth would be a long way off.. Look at how well we are currently keeping the space station supplied so people can survive. I would also assume if there was a dispute about the Moon that any sort of hostilities would actually take place here on Earth.

THe US could make an arguement for ownership or 'right' to it I suppose, but I doubt any international organization would agree to any one nation having it, so it'd come down to 'posession by might'.

However, its foolish to think that these things won't become issues. Places like Italy and Germany 'missed the boat', so to speak, on the two american continents, and the rammifications of that are still being felt today. The first nation to really get into space, put bases on the moon, or another planet, are going to be the 'super-duper' powers of their millenium. Look at how much of a difference mercantalism, a rather poorly developed and ineffective economic system, and the primitive states of the colonial era made. Imagine what capitalism and democracy are going to do.

Look at what some countries can do with just the resources of parts of the planet? Imagine an entire planet!

And imagine how easy it'd be to defend.

It'd almost be worht taking up your entire population, and moving them, en mass, to another planet and saying 'screw you world, we're going to make our own now thankyou very much'. You wouldn't have to worry about geo-politics, or at least it wouldn't have to be a major concern. You wouldn't have to worry about 'wars' between other 'countries' because there simply wouldn't be any.

For my own part, I'd suggest that it'd be best to work internationally on everything up to colonization of another planet, whether its orbital stations, moon bases, or stations beyond the orbit of the earth.