But don’t worry, we’re just disposing of it.  Not sending a message to, oh I don’t know, China.

The military hopes to smash the satellite as soon as next week — just before it enters Earth’s atmosphere — with a single missile fired from a Navy cruiser in the northern Pacific Ocean.

The dramatic maneuver may well trigger international concerns, and U.S. officials have begun notifying other countries of the plan — stressing that it does not signal the start of a new American anti-satellite weapons program.

Somehow, no matter what officials say, I don’t think the rest of the world is going to take it that way.

But who cares?  So we’re demonstrating our ability to shoot down satellites orbiting the planet.  That’s a good thing, as far as I’m concerned.  I know American assertiveness is anathema in the modern world of international diplomacy, but there’s nothing wrong with it none-the-less.  It’s worth remembering that most (though by no means all) of the threats America faces in the world are kept at bay by the threat of our fearsome military capabilities and all the technological marvels that go along with it.