By JEFF SALLOT
From Friday's Globe and Mail
Ottawa — Prime Minister Paul Martin says U.S. President George W. Bush has assured him that the ballistic missile defence program will not involve putting weapons in space.
Under pressure from his own caucus Thursday, Mr. Martin tried to buy time to decide whether his government will accept Mr. Bush's invitation to support the program.
Mr. Martin reiterated that Canada opposes putting weapons in space. "I have talked with the President about the whole question. The President says
does not imply the weaponization of space."
However, long-term Pentagon planning documents suggest ballistic missile defence may well evolve into a space-weapons program over time. Analysts at Mr. Martin's Department of National Defence have reported that it poses a "significant risk" of spreading weapons into space, declassified documents say.
The system already uses detection devices in space orbit to locate enemy missiles. Ottawa in August approved the use of these orbiting sensors, which are part of the Canada-U.S. North American Aerospace Defence Command
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