Ray Tanter, counterterrorism specialist, told attendees at AFA’s annual Air & Space Conference Sept. 25 that he has an option for dealing with Iran that avoided both fruitless diplomatic negotiations and a military air strike alternative. He argued that the Washington has made numerous diplomatic concessions, but there has been no diplomatic reciprocity by Tehran. And, Tanter said that although airmen would salute and say they could perform air strikes, air strikes would not work. Instead, he proposes effecting a regime change in Iran by “empowering the people,” by way of supporting the two main Iranian opposition groups, the National Council of Resistance to Iran, and the Mujahadeen el Khalq. Tanter acknowledged that his idea meets with stiff opposition from Washington, but he remains convinced that this is a viable alternative.
A new White House policy calls for the Pentagon to craft plans for additional space launch facilities to support a projected increase in launch demand that could see the U.S. supporting as many as 1,000 launches by 2030, more than a fivefold increase from 2025.