no military in space, say... um, ah, the... U.S.?

How funny is this;

WASHINGTON (AP) - Criticizing China's test of an anti-satellite weapon, the U.S. State Department said Friday "modern life as we know it" depends on the security of space-based technology.

State Department deputy spokesman Tom Casey said the administration raised concerns about the test with Chinese officials in Washington and in Beijing, making clear its opposition to "any militarization of space."

And their rationale for this amazing claim?;

"He said tests of the kind China carried out "produce extensive amounts of space debris, have the potential for disturbing or accidentally disrupting communication satellites or other kinds of space vehicles that are out there."

They can't seriously have forgotten, can they? Surely not! They've been at it since the Reagan days. In 2002 the U.S. renamed the BMDO to the MDA, having changed it to BMDO from SDIO in 1993.

As recently as 2002, the current Administration was planning "Son of Star Wars";

President Bush has ordered the setting up of a rudimentary missile defence system as early as 2004, underlining Washington's fear that the United States faces a real threat of intercontinental attack by rogue states.

As the Administration unveiled "Son of Star Wars" it asked Britain and other allies for their backing, apparently hoping to defray part of the cost, expected to be hundreds of billions of dollars over the coming decades.

The U.S. have also consistently vetoed U.N. treaties proposed by China and Russia aimed at banning the militarisation of space.

UPDATE: 23/1
Just re-read this and it probably sounds a little like I'm suggesting China are harmless. They're not. China are clearly bad news. I'm simply saying that blaming them entirely for starting a space arms race is a bit rich.