[slodave]

From Reuters:

SIGNAL TO CHINA?

Jeffries and other U.S. officials rejected suggestions that Bush opted to shoot down the satellite out of concern that classified material on board could survive reentry into Earth's atmosphere, and potentially land in the wrong hands.

They also said Washington was not shooting the satellite down in response to China's anti-satellite test last year, noting the United States had already demonstrated its capability to hit a space object with a missile in the 1980s.

http://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSN1447206620080214?pageNumber=1&virtualBrandChannel=10005