What we know about the ‘serious national security threat’ that has Washington riled up — and what we don’t

Washington reacted like a bomb went off after news broke on Capitol Hill of a “national security threat” about which all members of Congress had received a classified briefing.

For hours on Wednesday morning, rumours churned on Twitter before details began to come together. An early leak indicating that the intelligence was related to both a “foreign” security threat as well as outer space even drew excited murmuring about the possible discovery of alien life.

But if you were hoping to see some little green men, you better stick to reruns of X-Files. A clearer picture of the issue emerged later Wednesday and early Thursday; US officials are concerned about a new Russian capability centred around what The New York Times called a “space-based nuclear weapon” with anti-satellite capabilities. The purpose of this system, the Times further reported, is alleged by US officials to be threatening America’s military, communications and private satellite network.

A few other details remain unclear as leaks trickle out. The capability was described as not based “in orbit” by several current and former US officials who spoke to Reuters. But others who spoke to the Times contended that the capability did indeed raise questions about whether Russia was prepared to violate an international ban on orbital nuclear weapons.

There’s reportedly no cause for alarm, not yet: Reuters separately reported on Thursday that a source who had received the briefing from US intelligence agencies on the matter described the threat as not “urgent”.

The language used to describe the classified information by those who have seen it has differed marginally; most agree with the description of the threat as “serious” but no cause for alarm. Reuters has also cited read-in sources as saying that the anti-satellite weaponry is not an “active” capability of the Russian military — likely meaning it is in early or late-stage testing.

The Times backed up that assertion, citing officials who said there was a “limited” window of time to prevent Russia from deploying this new weapons system.

The moment has sparked a rare instance of bipartisanship in the House of Representatives, which for a year now has been at the mercy of a far-right contingent. That contingent has thrown the chamber into disarray on multiple occasions, thanks to a rule change lowering the threshold of members required to bring a motion to oust the House Speaker.

The GOP Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee issued a comparably cordial statement calling on the Democratic president, Joe Biden, to declassify intelligence regarding the Russian threat. In general, Democrats and Republicans have managed to avoid (so far) the partisan rancor and bad blood that consumes virtually every other issue on Capitol Hill.

Exceptions exist, of course. On Wednesday, one of the members of Congress to react to the intelligence was Georgia’s Marjorie Taylor Greene, who posted a lengthy and seemingly unrelated rant on Twitter about border security in response.

We only know bits and pieces of the story so far. But at the moment it looks very much like those lawmakers who defended the creation of the US Space Force under mockery from the public have been at least partially vindicated as the arena of geopolitical conflict makes a decisive shift towards the heavens.