Editor,
Every day there is much going on at UNM, some of which is worthy of public support, and some of which is questionable.
On Feb. 10, I attended a presentation at the UNM Centennial Engineering Center Auditorium, during which Air Force officials presented Powerpoint presentations on their laser and beam weapons research.
They came to ask UNM employees to help them create more killing machines for what is now called the “war fighter.”
The military is offering lucrative contracts to university-based researchers for their help in arming the modern “war fighter,” some of which are remotely controlled drones that kill with amoral impunity around the planet.
Their next Powerpoint talk is this Friday from 2 to 4 p.m. on space-war research needs. They want to grab the high grounds of space for war fighting around the globe, and they also want drones with laser weapons.
Control of space is key for them, and that means war is coming soon to space.
To me, the political message behind these talks sounded more like that of the people who built the V-2 when they were preparing for a thousand years of war and an empire from space with high-tech weapons.
These UNM-based presentations are given as if history has not been down this road before, and it is OK with the rest of the people of the world, which it is not.
This raises a lot of serious questions for the academic and civil community. Do we really want to be part of this?
One factor further factor to consider is that these kinds of tech solutions to social problems are driven by old-fashioned war profiteering and are a far cry from what higher education should be about.
This stands out in neon light these days when we have so many Earth-based, pressing social needs that need our money and brainpower. You might like to attend the next talk, see what you think and ask the regents why this is being allowed at UNM.
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Robert L. Anderson
UNM alumnus and Vietnam veteran
