Musk is helping Russia
Elon Musk has reportedly denied Ukraine’s use of his Starlink internet access on several occasions.
Billionaire Elon Musk reportedly restricted his Starlink internet access multiple times in Ukraine, which has affected Kyiv’s battlefield strategy. …
Ukrainian authorities worried about over-dependence on a single source technology held talks with other satellite internet providers. But they acknowledged none rival Starlink’s reach. “Starlink is indeed the blood of our entire communication infrastructure now,” Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine’s digital minister, told NYT.
(The Independent, August 1, 2023)
Most notably, he rejected the Ukrainian military’s request to turn on Starlink as battle plans unfolded near Crimea, the Russian-controlled territory. And similar denial of service torpedoed many drone attacks Ukraine wanted to launch against Russia’s naval fleet in the Black Sea.
Except that the only thing newsworthy about this is that Ukraine is still waging this war at Musk’s whim. After all, Ukraine was bemoaning its whimsical fate six months ago. I duly commented in “Elon Musk Bars Ukraine from Using His Starlink Satellites – to Help Russia” on February 10, 2023.
Musk denying Ukraine use of Starlink satellite is untenable
Meanwhile, lest we forget, this is not a war just between Ukraine and Russia. After all, President Biden himself has declared it a war between democracies and autocracies.
Ukraine is fighting on behalf of the US and other democracies like the UK, Russia on behalf of China and other autocracies like Iran. The US has already sent $113 billion in military aid to help Ukraine. That alone demonstrates the global nature of this war.
Musk’s ulterior motives
Never in the field of military warfare has a private citizen held the power to sway the course of a war between great powers. And, with all due respect to Ukraine, it’s in America’s national security interest for Ukraine to win this war. Yet Musk is undermining that interest.
Musk has profited more than any American in history from the democratic freedoms the US is helping Ukraine fight for. Therefore, it’s as hypocritical as it is treasonous for him to frustrate Ukraine’s war efforts.
Musk claims he does not want his satellites used for military purposes. And, to be fair, Starlink is a private company. What’s more, Musk was reportedly footing the bill for Ukraine to use its satellites for military communications.
And there’s the rub: Musk knew at the outset that Ukraine requested the use of his satellites to help it defend itself against Russia’s genocidal invasion. Yet he not only granted that request but agreed to foot the bill to boot. And even when he balked at continuing to foot the bill, the Pentagon stepped in.
But it defies common sense that Musk thinks he should have the right to dictate how Ukraine uses Starlink. And everyone knows that by hindering Ukraine’s war efforts, he’s helping Russia’s.
That’s why I’m convinced he’s doing China’s bidding. After all, Western CEOs have betrayed a willingness to sell out their respective countries for access to China’s lucrative market.
They have no compunction about prioritizing business interests over democratic values. But democratic leaders should draw a red line when business interests conflict with national security. And Musk is crossing that red line.
Biden should check Musk’s power by executive order
I’m already on record calling for democracies to decouple (or derisk) from China to protect their respective national security interest. Doing so would prevent Western CEOs from pursuing corporate interests, even at the expense of national security.
But President Biden should invoke the Defense Production Act (DPA). He should sign an executive order declaring these satellites necessary for national defense and ordering Musk to cooperate to ensure Ukraine can use them for any purpose.
Again, no private citizen should have the power to alter the course of any war according to their business, political, or moral interests. If Musk is allowed to act this way, he will make a mockery of the billions in taxpayer dollars the US has sent to help Ukraine win this war. Even worse, though, he will undermine US national security interests.