Reuters World News - Space nukes, Munich Security Conference and John Kirby on Russia

Episode Date: February 16, 2024

Wars in Ukraine and the Middle East are set to dominate the annual Munich Security Conference – along with fears of US political divisions. What nuclear weapons in space would mean for humanity. Plus, we speak to White House national security spokesperson John Kirby. Visit the Thomson Reuters Privacy Statement for information on our privacy and data protection practices. You may also visit megaphone.fm/adchoices to opt out of targeted advertising. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today, Munich's annual security conference opens with concerns over Ukraine, the Middle East, and the U.S. Intelligence officials assess the potential of Russian weapons in space. We speak to White House National Security spokesperson, Rear Admiral John Kirby, and a Georgia prosecutor takes the stand as Donald Trump appears in a New York court. It's Friday, February 16th. This is Reuters World News, bringing you everything. you need to know from the front lines in 10 minutes every weekday. I'm Tara Oaks in Liverpool. And I'm Jonah Green in Reading, Pennsylvania. No, this is the truth, Judge. It is a lot. It is a lot. Fannie Willis, the prosecutor, overseeing the election interference case against Donald Trump in Georgia, on the stand herself.

The Fulton County District Attorney pushing back against claims by Trump's lawyers that her romance with a colleague presents a conflict of interest. These people are on trial for trying to steal an election in 2020. I'm not on trial, no matter how hard you try to put me on trial. Trump and some of his co-defendants want Willis disqualified due to her relationship with Nathan Wade, who they say paid for trips the two took together while Wade was being paid by Willis's office.

Her office has blasted the disqualification effort as a publicity stunt. Meanwhile, in New York... We're here for something that is not a crime. The first ever criminal trial of a former U.S. president is set to begin on March 25th. A New York judge setting the date for the trial against Trump over criminal charges stemming from hush money paid to a porn star. Trump has pleaded not guilty and called it election interference. Greece's parliament has approved a bill allowing same-sex civil marriage. The landmark victory for supporters of LGBT rights was greeted with cheers by onlookers in parliament,

and dozens gathered on the streets of Athens. In Kansas City, police say a personal dispute, not extremism, is the motive behind the deadly mass shooting at a Super Bowl rally. Two juveniles and an adult are being held as suspects. Sources have said Egypt is preparing an area at the Gaza border to accommodate Palestinians in case an Israeli offensive into rougher prompts an exodus across the frontier. Egypt has denied making any such preparations,

but has repeatedly raised the alarm over the possibility that Israel's devastating Gaza offensive could displace Palestinians into Sinai. US Vice President Carmelah Harris has landed in Munich to join world and business leaders for the annual security conference. Harris and Secretary of State Anthony Blinken will have a tough task of reassuring allies that the US remains committed to defending their security. After Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump said he would not defend NATO members who failed to spend enough on defence. Andrew Gray is covering the conference from Munich.

So, Andrew, how far are Trump's words hanging over the conference? I think they cast a big shadow over the conference. It's traditionally a kind of barometer of the transatlantic relationship. And obviously those comments by Donald Trump basically calling into question the collective defense commitment of NATO, the idea that the United States would come to the aid of a NATO member under attack. And how can the US? best reassure allies on defence when the Senate-approved US military aid package looks doubtful to pass through the House? The point I expect that they will make is broad support for Ukraine. This problem with Congress is actually about something else. But of course, the bottom line is,

whatever the root cause of the problem, the measure has not been passed and Ukraine needs that aid urgently. How far is war in the Middle East also having an impact on the conference? Yeah, well, we have some senior figures from the Middle East taking part in the conference, including the Israeli president and the Palestinian Prime Minister. There may also be some meetings on the sidelines to try and advance things there. But the challenge, to be honest, there for the West, particularly for the Europeans, is they're not particularly united on this issue beyond some very basic demands. So we will definitely hear a lot about it, whether we hear a lot of unity is another question.

And what about the defence industry? Anything we can expect in terms of major announcements or big arms deals? The defence industry does turn up in force at this event and they may well have one or two things up their sleeves. But I think a lot of the focus this year will be on these kind of three uncertainties. The war in Ukraine, the war in the Middle East and the situation in the United States, both the impasse in Congress and also the prospect of another Donald Trump presidency. A Republican congressman's cryptic warning of a, quote, serious national security threat has spurred concern about Russian weapons in space.

Washington has new intelligence, according to a source briefed on the matter, that relates to Russian nuclear capabilities and attempts to develop a space-based weapon. These new Russian capabilities do not pose an urgent threat to the United States, according to the source. Joey Roulette is Reuters' space reporter. So, Joey, what are the implications for the world? for a weapon like this? This has been something that U.S. officials have been tracking for many months, maybe even years. And the reason it's important is because a lot of what we on Earth do depends on satellites

in space, from our Uber drivers to communications and internet. Recently, a lot of countries have been militarizing space. The U.S. has been accusing Russia of doing that. Russia has been accusing the U.S. of doing that. China is doing the same thing. So the concern about a nuclear power device is that the capability, the military capability would be that much stronger as well. And that could range from something like an electromagnetic pulse, which requires a lot of energy, nuclear levels of energy, to send a field of radiation that will fry the satellites, you know, electronics on board. Or it could be some really strong kind of electronic warfare weapon that could jam signals or blind the sensors of other systems.

satellites. But not an actual nuclear bomb. Analysts say it's extremely unlikely for an actual nuclear bomb to be deployed in space in the way that we would imagine that to be on Earth. That's both physically tricky and almost impossible and also doesn't really align with Russia's strategic interests in space. We, humankind, we have a lot of bombs and missiles. Do we not already have the ability to blow things up in space? Yeah, states have tested traditional bombs and missiles to strike individual satellites, but the reason something like an electromagnetic pulse is concerning is because it can attack vast networks of satellites where an individual missile cannot. You're describing an arms race in space. What are the current laws of engagement?

The main landmark body of international space law dates back to 1967. It's called the Outer Space Treaty. And in a lot of areas of space, it's a very broad law open to many different interpretations and a lot of people think it's not specific enough and it needs updating. But one thing it does say is that nuclear weapons are not to be placed in space. How worried should we be? Some officials and lawmakers this week raised a lot of alarms about the dangers of this system. But it's important to note that whether Russia would actually detonate such a weapon is kind of called into question because it would likely damage its own satellites in space.

Russia has astronauts on the International Space Station. The ISS would be potentially damaged by such a weapon. And so would China's own space station. China is a friend of Russia, and they wouldn't be too happy if Russia deployed a weapon that could render an entire orbital shell useless. National Security spokesperson John Kirby was asked about Russia's capabilities in a press briefing. He spoke to Reuters World News from the White House afterwards. Admiral Kirby, what can you tell us?

We do not believe this is an active capability, and we don't believe it's been deployed yet by Russia. We are concerned about it, and we're taking it seriously. I can go so far as to say it is an anti-satellite capability, a space-based anti-satellite capability. We're going to engage directly with Russia. We are engaging members of Congress up on Capitol Hill, including today. And we will certainly consult with our allies and partners about our understanding of what this capability is and start to think about what the appropriate next steps might be. And do we have any sense as to Russia's strategy in developing this technology? Difficult to know exactly, you know, to get inside their head.

And I certainly wouldn't speak for them about the motivations or the intent. I would say that this is a capability that we know they have been wanting to pursue for at least a few years. But it's only in recent weeks that our intelligence community has been able to form a more accurate assessment of their designs to pursue it. You can hear my full interview with Admiral Kirby over the weekend. We also talk about what's next in the fight over the $95 billion security package in Washington. That's it for today's episode of Reuters World News. We'll be back on Monday with our daily headline show. Don't forget to tune in to our special weekend edition.

And hear the full interview with Admiral Kirby over a stalled military aid package for Ukraine and other allies. These are not some foreign wars that have no effect on us. They absolutely have an effect on our own national security. To make sure you know what's going on in the world, listen in for 10 minutes every weekday. And don't forget to subscribe on your favorite podcast player or download the Reuters app.