Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Trump: We want to feed the people in Gaza, we do not want them to starve.
US President Donald Trump: We will impose sanctions on Russia if it does not end the war on Ukraine.
Israeli media: Polls show that 52% oppose Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu while only 29% support him.
Israeli media: 32% of Americans still support "Israel's" war on Hamas, while 60% oppose it.
Israeli media: Core US support for "Israel" hits its lowest, while support for Palestine reaches its highest levels.
Al Mayadeen's correspondent reports martyrs, injuries in Israeli bombardment of home in Heker al-Jame area in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza.
Al-Quds Governorate: Today, the spatial division of Al-Aqsa Mosque began in a public and dangerous manner, and we warn of a religious war in the region
The Ministry of Health in Gaza: This brings the total number of victims of famine and malnutrition to 175, including 93 children
The Ministry of Health in Gaza: Gaza's hospitals recorded six deaths due to starvation and malnutrition in the past 24 hours, all of them adults
Informed sources to Al Mayadeen: A new chapter in relations between Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency will begin within the framework of the new law passed by Parliament

How Elon Musk became a key geopolitical figure - Axios

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: Axios
  • 25 Oct 2022 23:52
4 Min Read

Elon Musk's rise to geopolitics has been accompanied by a lot of hate, but even the US government cannot deny the billionaire's importance in terms of military and national security.

  • x
  • Starlink CEO Elon Musk
    Starlink CEO Elon Musk

Elon Musk has been a fan favorite in Ukraine over the past few months, as he granted - though at the expense of the Biden administration - Kiev access to his international satellite-internet service, Starlink, and largely expressed his pro-Ukraine position online.

The billionaire has been largely active online in terms of making plans for peace in Ukraine and proposing how the situation in the region should be resolved, in addition to suggesting solutions for the Taiwan issue, which got him quite a lot of hate.

However, the man of the hour has one tool on his hand that gives him a solid amount of significance; his Starlink company, which offers internet satellite services all over the globe.

Space companies are largely important in this day and age due to surpassing governments in terms of their abilities to grant technological and geopolitical powers they offer to those wielding their services.

The capitalization of space has offered these companies an ecosystem they can exist in with resources focused solely on developing their abilities, unlike states, which have to diversify where their taxpayer money goes.

The US did not make the decision that Musk activates Starlink in Ukraine, he decided the matter by himself after Kiev called him on to do so.

SpaceX was "trying to strong-arm the US government into paying for this service that they chose to send there in the first place," Kaitlyn Johnson, a space policy expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), told Axios.

Read next: Ukraine worried over Musk delve into geopolitics - reports

Now, the Pentagon is mulling paying Musk for the service that could give Washington a lot of advantages in the international arena.

Related News

Iraq’s PMF law seen as test of sovereignty amid US objections

Notorious Palantir lands record $10bln contract with the US Army

Despite the hate he is receiving, and despite garnering praise from its foes, such as Russia, Washington realizes Musk's importance. The Kremlin described Musk's initiatives as positive, but Ukrainian officials, diplomats, and even the country's president bashed the billionaire.

Musk's so-called peace plan said elections should be held under the supervision of the United Nations in the territories recently added to Russia to see whether they wanted to remain part of Russia or not; Crimea is recognized as Russian; Ukraine assures the water supply to Crimea; Ukraine remains a neutral party.

He also underlined that this would be the outcome of the war regardless, therefore, it was "just a question of how many die before then."

There are now 20,000 terminals in Ukraine that Starlink sends high-speed internet to from very low orbit. The high-speed internet has been very beneficial for Ukraine, with Musk coming together with the US government to give Kiev access to the service for free - the US paid for the majority of the terminals and Musk waived the usual monthly fees.

Starlink "changed the course of the war to Ukraine’s advantage," said Mykhailo Fedorov, a deputy prime minister.

It is of such importance that Ukraine's train system depends on it, and so does the government, as it uses it to transmit communications, including Zelensky's broadcasts.

This comes at a time that space companies are growing in terms of importance, increasingly providing clients with satellite remote sensing and high-bandwidth communication via satellite.

Musk also helped the United States in Iran, activating his constellation of internet satellites in the country in light of the mass riots taking place there. 

"Activating Starlink", Musk said on Twitter, replying to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken's announcement that Washington "took action today to advance Internet freedom and the free flow of information for the Iranian people."

Commercial satellites are not only important in terms of faster internet speed and a possibly more secure connection away from government surveillance. They are taking on a national security and military importance, which is shifting the playing field in space.

  • United States
  • Taiwan
  • Russia
  • Elon Musk
  • Ukraine
  • Starlink
  • Iran

Most Read

A rescued crew member from the ETERNITY C vessel in a video released by the Yemeni Armed Forces on July 28, 2025 (Yemeni Military Media)

Yemen Navy reveals fate of targeted Eternity C ship crew

  • Politics
  • 28 Jul 2025
An Israeli tank explodes following an ambush by al-Qassam Brigades in Gaza, Occupied Palestine, undated (Al-Qassam Military Media)

Al-Qassam strikes Israeli vehicles in Gaza, inflicts casualties

  • Politics
  • 30 Jul 2025
UAE lodges complaint against Israeli ambassador over 'misbehavior'

UAE lodges complaint against Israeli ambassador over 'misbehavior'

  • Politics
  • 1 Aug 2025
An explosion seen during an Iranian missile attack on Tel Aviv, Occupied Palestine, June 13, 2025 (AP)

If Iran is attacked again, geography of response may change: IRGC spox

  • Politics
  • 30 Jul 2025

Coverage

All
The Ummah's Martyrs

Read Next

All
A member of the al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, takes part in a parade as he celebrates a ceasefire agreement between Hamas and the Israeli regime in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, Sunday, January 19, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Al-Qassam: We’ll allow aid to Israeli captives if Gaza siege ends

Freed Lebanese freedom fighter Georges Abdallah during an interview on Al Mayadeen, which aired on Sunday, August 3, 2025 (Al Mayadeen screengrab)
Politics

Exclusive: Resistance key to building state, Georges Abdallah says

United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres gives a statement about the situation in Gaza at UN headquarters, Friday, June 27, 2025 (AP)
Politics

UN warns Gaza faces water crisis, looming famine under Israeli siege

Israeli soldiers drive their armored personnel carrier along the Gaza Strip, in southern occupied Palestine, Wednesday, July 30, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Ex-Israeli general says Gaza starvation campaign isolated 'Israel'

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS