The former director of the U.S. space exploration agency blasted Barack Obama’s “foremost” directive for NASA, calling it “flawed.”
“NASA … represents the best of America. Its purpose is not to inspire Muslims or any other cultural entity,” Michael Griffin, who served as NASA administrator during the latter half of the Bush administration, told FoxNews.com. [link]
Griffin also said that while collaboration with other nations is welcome, Muslim-nation cooperation is not vital for U.S. advancements in space exploration.
“There is no technology they have that we need,” Griffin said.
Charles Bolden, the current Administrator, recently came under heavy scrutiny when he told Al Jazeera in an interview last month that Obama’s “foremost” directive was for him to reach out to Muslims and make them feel good about their contributions to math and science.
Griffin, the former administrator, stressed that any criticism should be directed at Obama, not Bolden, since NASA merely carries out policy.
Officials from the White House and NASA confirmed the claim that NASA’s mission is to reach out to Muslims, but, according to FOX News, NASA backed off the assertion that international diplomacy was its “foremost” responsibility.
Bob Jacobs, NASA’s assistant administrator for public affairs, said that Bolden, the current administrator, misspoke.
He said NASA’s “core mission” is exploration and that it was “unfortunate” that Bolden’s comments are now being viewed through a “partisan prism.”
Though Bolden’s comments to Al Jazeera caused a firestorm of condemnation, it wasn’t the first time he made those statements.
In a Feb. 16 article in the Orlando Sentinel, Bolden said Obama told him to “find ways to reach out to dominantly Muslim countries.”
Griffin disputed Bolden’s claims that the U.S. needed international help if we’re going to make it to Mars. Griffin said the U.S. can, and has, made great strides in space exploration without international aid, “To the extent that [if] we wish to go to Mars, we can go to Mars.”
