Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson recently noted that “space is not a ‘benign’ environment to support warfighters, but a domain of warfighting in of itself.” The inhabitants of Alderaan and the Hosnian system found out how right she was. While destroying a planet is horrendous, to be sure, the exact context merits consideration when discussing the legal implications. There are some arguments that destroying planets is in harmony with the Outer Space Treaty . As Secretary Wilson stated, space is a domain of warfighting. Let’s consider what happens in war. Alderaan: Planet of Peace . . . or War? Alderaan is well known as a peaceful planet. Shortly before its destruction, Princess Leia plead that they had no weapons . But it was also home to two Senator who were key members of the rebellion - Bail and Leia Organa. In the events leading up to the Rebellion’s stealing of the Death Star plans, Bail Organa stated “Yes I agree, I must return to Alderaan to inform my peo...