OPINION:
Elon Musk, owner of the SpaceX-operated Starlink communication system, turned off the electronic spectrum relied upon by Ukrainian forces for drone operations and military communications, and by the U.S. for battlefield surveillance.
This is placing too much power in the hands of an unelected American citizen.
After the end of World War II, President Harry Truman was faced with impending strikes by the railway unions and the steel industry. Arguing national security, he issued a set of executive orders that if a strike took place, the railways would be nationalized, the striking leaders jailed and recalcitrant railway workers drafted into the Army. The strike took place, and the Army took over the railways and operated them to make sure war materiel was provided for the Korean War.
If we had another Harry Truman in the Oval Office (which we don’t), he should tell Mr. Musk that if he does not open Starlink for all necessary military activities, the system will be nationalized and Mr. Musk will be drafted. Watching Mr. Musk go through basic training would make a great virtual-reality show.
BILL KLEIN
Springfield, Illinois
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