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GlobalSecurity.org In the News

July 2003 News

  1. NASA Budget Is T-Minus And Holding As Columbia Probe Is Out By Gwyneth K. Shaw Orlando Sentinel (Florida) August 17, 2003 -- John Pike, a space-policy expert and head of GlobalSecurity.org, a northern Virginia-based think tank, said that evolution needs to involve serious consideration -- and serious money. If NASA wants to really move ahead, getting the space station back on schedule, making the shuttle safer and laying the groundwork for future exploration, he said, the agency's small annual budget increases will have to grow substantially.
  2. Critical Flaws In Shuttles Loom As Potential Disaster By Kevin Spear and Jim Leusner Orlando Sentinel (Florida) August 17, 2003 -- "The answer to this is to go back and try to understand what you don't understand," said John Pike, director of GlobalSecurity.org, a space-policy think tank. "You have to go back and look at what parts of your understanding on the shuttle are based on assumptions, and which ones are based on conclusions."
  3. Rafael's newest missiles among the world's best By Erik Schechter The Jerusalem Post July 31, 2003 -- "If it were just a matter of inches of penetration per dollar," noted John Pike, a defense analyst for GlobalSecurity.org, "military sales would not be so be protracted."
  4. Kill Troops' Off Hours By Noah Shachtman Wired News July 31, 2003 -- In the past, the military's quality-of-life initiatives have focused on the married soldier or airman, noted John Pike, director of GlobalSecurity.org. "They've had a hard time keeping single service members entertained when not on duty. But as we shift from a peacetime to a wartime military, you're going to have a lot more single service members. And if you just turn 'em loose at 5 o'clock, they're going to come home with the clap," he said.
  5. US Options Limited if Iran Has al Qaeda Leaders By Lawrence Morahan Cybercast News Service July 30, 2003 -- Patrick Garrett, an analyst with GlobalSecurity.org, called al-Zawahiri "a huge philosophical center within al Qaeda, directing the war on terrorism." Al-Zawahiri's capture "might not be an operational coup in that he might not know exactly what's going on, but it would certainly be a morale crusher for al Qaeda," Garrett said.
  6. US Issues New Suicide Hijacking Warning By Nick Simeone Voice of America July 29, 2003 -- "I think that anybody who has flown on an airplane since September 11 knows that the security, while better, is not perfect and you have to be concerned that they're just going to try to grab some more airplanes," said John Pike, the director of Global Security.Org.
  7. Bush Makes Maintenance, Expansion Of US Superiority In Military Use Of Space A Goal. The Bulletin's Frontrunner July 28, 2003 -- "The "swift U.S. military victory in Iraq hints at the potential of space power." John Pike of GlobalSecurity.org said
  8. BOEING SUSPENSION LEVELS PLAYING FIELD, BUT ISN'T SURPRISE, ANALYSTS SAY SATELLITE WEEK July 28, 2003 -- The indefinite suspension period is just a measure to "find out how high [Boeing] will jump," said John Pike, space and defense analyst and director of GlobalSecurity.org
  9. State may experience buildup of military forces By William Cole Honolulu Advertiser July 28, 2003 -- "That (a carrier for Hawai'i) would be just a hugely dramatic shift," said Patrick Garrett, a military analyst for GlobalSecurity.org, a Virginia-based think tank.
  10. U.S. the leader in war plans for space By Jack Kelly Pittsburgh Post-Gazette July 28, 2003 -- If you ask what was the difference between Iraq's army and America's Army, the big difference was satellites," said John Pike of GlobalSecurity.org. "It's why the United States is unbeatable on a conventional battlefield. It's why the United States is the sole remaining superpower. It's why we frighten the living daylights out of the rest of the planet."
  11. Killings in Afghanistan a hard pill to swallow for some By David Wilson South China Morning Post July 28, 2003 -- The go pills defence is further corroborated by John Pike, director of the defence think-tank Globalsecurity.org. According to Mr Pike, Schmidt behaved in an "inexplicably aggressive" manner beyond weariness, inexperience or recklessness. "The simplest explanation is that the guy had eaten too much speed and was paranoid," Mr Pike is on record as saying.
  12. NASA 'SCRAMJET' READY TO FLY AGAIN By DAVE SCHLECK Daily Press July 27, 2003 -- Hypersonic flight is by nature a high-risk, potentially high-payoff program, said John Pike, director of globalsecuri ty.org, a longtime observer of NASA.
  13. Did Bush cry wolf on Iraq? By CanWest News Service Edmonton Journal July 27, 2003 -- "They were definitely making things a little bit clearer than the truth in order to sell the war," said John Pike, who is the director of GlobalSecurity.org, a think-tank in Alexandria, Va.
  14. NORTH KOREA: Armed and dangerous By Wayne Snow The Atlanta Journal-Constitution July 27, 2003 -- Sources: CIA World Factbook, World Book Encyclopedia, Jane's Information Group, Monterey Institute of International Studies, GlobalSecurity.org, Associated Press / TROY OXFORD / Staff
  15. Fort Lewis Stryker unit going to Iraq By Mathew Craft Seattle Post-Intelligencer July 24, 2003 -- "One of the problems we have in Iraq right now is that we're annoying the local population with these tanks," John Pike said. "We're either ripping up the roads with tanks and mechanized units. Or our light units are getting hit with rocket-propelled grenades and shot up."
  16. Pentagon Expresses Confidence in Finding Saddam By Will Dunham Reuters July 23, 2003 -- "I am somewhat surprised and puzzled that these senior figures have managed to remain at large this long," said John Pike, director of the GlobalSecurity.org defense think tank.
  17. The Future Of Choppers In Battle Looks Choppy By Nicholas Kulish and Anne Marie Squeo The Wall Street Journal July 23, 2003 -- Certainly, helicopters have been crucial to some big victories. The first shot of the 1991 Gulf War came from an Army Apache during an attack on Iraqi radar stations that cleared the way for the air campaign. And "during the 100-hour ground war ... attack helicopters played their most decisive role ever in combat," according to GlobalSecurity.org, an authority on military matters.
  18. Saddam sons slain By Tim Harper The Toronto Star July 23, 2003 -- "It was a good day for the White House," said John Pike, a military analyst with GlobalSecurity.org. "In some respects, it is more important to get the sons rather than the father to ensure there is no succession."
  19. Deaths expected to boost Iraqis' confidence in allies By Laurie Goering and E.A. Torriero Chicago Tribune July 23, 2003 -- Patrick Garrett, who has studied the Iraqi military for GlobalSecurity.org, a suburban Washington organization, also called the military success "a huge morale boost for a White House that has been taking a beating lately over Iraq. It will have a positive impact on the U.S. mission."
  20. Big Win In Battle For Hearts & Minds By Niles Lathem The NY Post July 23, 2003 -- But military analyst John Pike, head of the Globalsecurity.org defense think tank, was more cautious. "It might be premature to declare total victory, but we've now got three of the four aces accounted for - psychologically that's very important," he said.
  21. Pentagon Wants to Make a New PAL By Noah Shachtman Wired News July 23, 2003 -- GlobalSecurity.org director John Pike -- a critic of many Darpa projects, including LifeLog -- sees a second possible use for the digital assistant. (...) "This could be the little man whispering in your ear, telling you what to do next."
  22. The War Comes Home By Karen Tumulty/Washiington, With reporting by John F. Dickerson and Eric Roston/Washington, Deborah Fowler/Houston, Simon Robinson/Fallujah, Maggie Sieger/Detroit and Jill Underwood/San Diego Time Magazine July 28, 2003 -- Source: Globalsecurity.org
  23. Remaining fleet poses new hurdles for NASA By Robyn Suriano Orlando Sentinel July 21, 2003 -- "If Columbia taught us anything, it's not whether you will lose another again but when," said John Pike, a space-policy expert and head of GlobalSecurity.org, a Virginia-based think tank. "So you better go ahead and plan for it right now. But this is a political question that I don't think you'll hear anybody asking. It's too scary; it's the monster under the bed -- there are some things that are just too hard to talk about."
  24. US digs in for a deadly mind game By Tony Allen-Mills and Hala Jaber Sunday Times (London) July 20, 2003 -- However, defence experts in Washington said the attacks, which have killed 35 US troops since Bush declared the war over in May, were sporadic. "This is a very far cry from Vietnam," said John Pike, an analyst with GlobalSecurity.org.
  25. Hype seen in weapons rhetoric By Bryan Bender Boston Globe July 20, 2003 -- ''They were definitely making things a little bit clearer than the truth in order to sell the war,'' said John Pike, who is the director of GlobalSecurity.org, a think tank in Alexandria, Va. ''They were acting like it was an electoral campaign -- you can say all kinds of wild things and whatever it would take to get people to buy the war.''
  26. REMco sand better than real thing By Marc Albert Oakland Tribune July 19, 2003 - According to globalsecurity.org, "In March 2002, Vice President (Dick) Cheney toured the air base on Oman's Masirah Island. Neither the United States nor Oman acknowledges U.S. use of the base, but it is an open secret in the region that it has been used for bombing runs to Afghanistan."
  27. AC4L8=8:B> Kommersant July 19, 2003
  28. Local Marine units staying busy in Iraq By James W. Crawley San Diego Union-Tribune July 18, 2003 -- GlobalSecurity.org analyst John Pike said the Pentagon misjudged how long combat forces would have to stay in Iraq. "I think they thought (the troops) would be home in June," Pike said.
  29. Israel in Reichweite der Raketen Von Nikolas Busse Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung July 18, 2003 -- Die amerikanische Nichtregierungsorganisation GlobalSecurity.org, die als gut informiert gilt, schätzt, daß Iran zu militärischen Einsätzen mit Chemiewaffen in der Lage ist und bei den Biowaffen ein "fortgeschrittenes" Forschungs- und Entwicklungsprogramm betreibt.
  30. Vintage MiG-15 jet pierces fence By Michael Frazier and Noel E. Ooman Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (Little Rock, AR) July 17, 2003 -- The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 was the former Soviet Union's first successful jet fighter. Designed to shoot down heavy bombers, it carried one 37 mm and two 23 mm cannons, according to Globalsecurity.org, an Alexandria, Va.-based nonprofit public-policy organization focusing on defense, space and intelligence issues.
  31. Pacific troops feel military can handle the new pace By Wayne Specht Stars and Stripes July 18, 2003 -- John Pike, a defense analyst and founder of GlobalSecurity.org, counts two pitfalls potentially affecting the increasing dependence on the forces  quality of life and retention issues.
  32. Don't Fight It By Emily Lambert Forbes.com July 17, 2003 -- John Pike, director of the military research group GlobalSecurity.org, says there will almost certainly be fewer troops and facilities in the U.S. in the future. "That's been a continuous trend ever since the end of World War II," he says.
  33. Deputy D.A. Medvigy spreads U.S. message in Iraq By Guy Kovner The Press Democrat July 17, 2003 -- George Smith, a senior fellow with GlobalSecurity.org, a defense think tank, said the strong language and vivid scenes in the leaflets may have been more frightening than convincing.
  34. Special investigation: The spies who pushed for war By Julian Borger The Guardian (London) July 17, 2003 -- As John Pike, a defence analyst at the thinktank GlobalSecurity.org, put it, the contracts "are basically a way they could pack the room with their little friends".
  35. Rumsfeld's personal spy ring By Eric Boehlert Salon.com July 16, 2003 -- To date, no weapons or significant evidence of weapons programs have been located, which in and of itself is remarkable. "One year ago, no serious person would've thought we'd have 150,000 troops combing the country and still not be able to find the poison gas," says John Pike, an intelligence expert and director of GlobalSecurity.org. Pike describes the Office of Special Plans as "Rummy's war room."
  36. NASA setting up safety center based at Langley By A.J. Hostetler Richmond Times-Dispatch July 16, 2003 -- Charles Vick of Fredericksburg, a senior fellow and space policy expert with GlobalSecurity.org, said he expected the center to act "almost as a clearinghouse" where NASA employees could raise safety issues without fear, a helpful sign in the agency's recovery.
  37. Military families wait, worry By Peter Smolowitz Charlotte Observer July 15, 2003 -- "I don't expect to see too many people home by Labor Day," said Patrick Garrett, an associate analyst with GlobalSecurity.org, a Washington nonprofit group focused on defense issues. "Unfortunately, they put themselves in this position where they have to keep disappointing families."
  38. 'US Mulling NK Regime Change' Korea Times July 15, 2003 -- U.S. military website globalsecurity.org also recently started to count down for a war with North Korea, hinting that U.S. bombing will begin at the end of this year. The site said as of yesterday, only 170 days are left before war.
  39. Pentagon Alters LifeLog Project By Noah Shachtman Wired News July 14, 2003 -- But not too much, said John Pike, director of GlobalSecurity.org. "Darpa adds these contractual provisions to appear to be above suspicion," Pike said. "But if you can put them in, you can take them out."
  40. La guerra de los familiares By Maria Ramirez El Mundo July 13, 2003 -- «Hay similitudes obvias, en términos del desarrollo de un gobierno legítimo y la eliminación de los ataques contra las tropas americanas», explica el director del think-tank de Defensa Global Security, John Pike. «La diferencia es que sabemos cómo terminó Vietnam, pero no sabemos cómo terminará Irak. Puede calmarse en los próximos meses o empeorar muchísimo». Las previsiones más optimistas ya calculan cinco años de ocupación. «EEUU no puede simplemente marcharse de Irak. El petróleo da a quien gobierne Irak demasiado poder como para jugárselo a cara o cruz».
  41. A New Name Puts a Pentagon Agency on the Map By Eric Schmitt The New York Times July 13, 2003 -- "It's elevation data, it's terrain analysis of where tanks can and can't drive, it's showing where helicopters can fly so they won't be seen by air defenses, it's targeting data," explained John Pike, the director of GlobalSecurity.org, a public-policy group. "It's information you can put in whatever format -- on paper, on a CD-ROM for a laptop computer or imagery drawn from a drone or satellite."
  42. Syria At Crossroads By Mohamad Bazzi Newsday (New York) July 13, 2003 -- SOURCES: National Geographic, www.globalsecurity.org.
  43. Photo Might Have Shown Hole By Gwyneth K. Shaw Orlando Sentinel (Florida) July 12, 2003 -- John Pike, head of GlobalSecurity.org, a space, defense and intelligence think tank, said the foam testing shifts the debate over whether NASA should have pursued the photos. Previous testing, on the carbon panels and mock-ups made of fiberglass, produced only tiny cracks that suggested photos or even in-orbit inspection might have been useless. That's no longer the case, Pike said.
  44. CIA takes blame for Iraq charge By Robert Schlesinger The Boston Globe July 12, 2003 -- Administration officials ''thought it was a zinger, and they wanted to keep it in, and so they basically haggled over the words,'' said John Pike, the director of GlobalSecurity.org. ''It goes to the fundamental disconnect between intelligence officers and politicians, that intelligence is always caveated in a way that a policy speech cannot be.''
  45. Big Brother Gets A Brain By Noah Shachtman Village Voice (New York, NY) July 15, 2003 -- "This gives the U.S. government capabilities Big Brother only pretended to have," said John Pike, director of Globalsecurity.org, a defense think tank. "Before, we said Big Brother's watching. But he really wasn't, because there was too much to watch."
  46. Israel liegt nun in Reichweite Von Daniel Herrmann BFrankfurter Rundschau July 10, 2003 -- Iran baut sein Raketenprogramm offenbar weiter aus. Der US-Militärexperte John Pike vom Thinktank "Globalsecurity" berichtet in seinem Internetdienst von der "Schahab-4", für die es zwar bislang noch keine Flugerprobung gegeben habe, die aber Ziele etwa in Deutschland erreichen könne. Die Technik basiere auf der nordkoreanischen "Nodong-2" oder der russischen "SS-4".
  47. U.S. Authorities Raid Companies Over Iran Arms Sales Bloomberg July 10, 2003 -- The Bush administration has been trying to stop Iran from building nuclear weapons-production facilities, and the F-14s may make a significant difference in Iran's ability to deter any U.S. effort to attack those facilities, said John Pike, a military analyst for Globalsecurity.org, a research organization.
  48. Is Iran next? By Mark Follman Salon.com July 10, 2003 -- What would be the real consequences of a nuclear-armed Iran? The nightmare scenario of the "mad mullahs" jumping to attack Israel is unlikely, says John Pike, director of GlobalSecurity.org. "The regime isn't irrationally suicidal," he says.
  49. Panelist Faults NASA Cutbacks; Shuttle Report Will Note Funds Shifted From Safety Efforts By Eric Pianin The Washington Post July 10, 2003 -- John Pike, a space expert who runs GlobalSecurity.org, a nonprofit space and defense policy group, said yesterday that the board's finding highlighted a major problem, that for years NASA has been testing key shuttle components "on the cheap" with computer models and simulations but often without the physical tests of hardware that would provide the clearest picture of potential flaws.
  50. U.S. Government Deems Grad Student's Dissertation As Classified; Poll Finds Majority Of Those Polled Would Re-Elect Bush FOX SPECIAL REPORT WITH BRIT HUME (18:31) July 08, 2003 -- But there are other questions, what happens now to America's manned space flight program? How long before the shuttle flies again? How will this impact the International Space Station? Here to talk about some of those questions, perhaps provide some answers, John Pike, the director of globalsecurity.org, also a Fox News contributor.
  51. Cause and Effect; Shuttle test yields gaping hole in wing By Earl Lane Newsday (New York) July 08, 2003 -- John Pike, a military analyst with the nonprofit GlobalSecurity.org, said that, depending on conditions, the hole "was in the ballpark of what a satellite would have seen."
  52. Iran Confirms Test of Missile That Is Able To Hit Israel By Nazila Fathi The New York Times July 08, 2003 -- Sources: GlobalSecurity.org, Periscope, Federation of American Scientists
  53. Shuttle contractors likely to see increased oversight, analysts say By Nick Jonson Aerospace Daily July 07, 2003 -- The additional scrutiny, as well as several personnel changes announced July 2, are necessary if NASA is to change the way the shuttle program is managed following the Columbia shuttle disaster, said Charles Vick, senior fellow at GlobalSecurity.org. "We're dealing with an entire attitude through NASA and industry in the way this thing has been handled," Vick said.
  54. Life Under Fire By Romesh Ratnesar with Simon Robinson in Baghdad, With reporting by Joshua Kucera/Karbala, Lisa Beyer/New York and Massimo Calabresi, Matthew Cooper, James Carney and Mark Thompson/Washington Time Magazine July 14, 2003 -- Sources: Defense Department; GlobalSecurity.org; AP; Jane's Infantry Weapons; Foreign Military Studies Office
  55. US remaking look, locations of bases abroad By Robert Schlesinger The Boston Globe July 07, 2003 -- ''It's the outward and visible, concrete . . . manifestation of the Bush doctrine,'' said John Pike, director of GlobalSecurity.org, a Virginia-based defense think tank.
  56. Hunt for banned weapons goes ballistic By David Hambling, with additional reporting by Kurt Kleiner New Scientist July 05, 2003 -- But John Pike, director of Washington DC think tank GlobalSecurity.org, and a former technology chief at the Federation of American Scientists, says the design of the shell could work. "It's enormously elegant," he says. "I would almost say it's surprising no one ever thought of it before. I don't know in the real world whether they'll do that. But it would not be the most wasteful expenditure ever."
  57. Legacy of Stellar Service By Keith Rogers Las Vegas Review-Journal (Nevada) July 04, 2003 -- SOURCES: Larry Odell, Globalsecurity.org
  58. Further Changes Foreseen At NASA By Gwyneth K. Shaw Orlando Sentinel (Florida) July 04, 2003 -- John Pike, a space policy expert and head of GlobalSecurity.org, a Virginia-based think tank, said he wasn't surprised at the initial round of changes. But the members of the program -- from former manager Ron Dittemore on down -- were essentially doing what they were supposed to under the existing setup, he said.
  59. Bounty of Riches, Misery By Samson Mulugeta Newsday (New York) July 04, 2003 -- SOURCES: CIA World Factbook, International Petroleum Encyclopedia, www.globalsecurity.org
  60. Bush may send peacekeepers to enforce truce The Sydney Morning Herald July 04, 2003 -- However, John Pike, a military analyst who is director of GlobalSecurity.org, a Washington think tank, said the number of troops that might be sent to Liberia "is chump change . . . way to the right of the decimal point".
  61. Iraqis not giving up the ghost as Hussein haunts U.S. efforts By Jim Landers The Dallas Morning News July 03, 2003 -- John Pike, director of the analytical firm globalsecurity.org in Alexandria, Va., said the dismissal by Mr. Bremer of 400,000 members of the Iraqi military could account for much of the violence. "I suspect it's unclear de-baathification policies, and that it's too many young men with too many guns as opposed to a pervasive belief that Saddam's lying low and will pop up in a few months when the Americans go home," he said.
  62. Millions for GE added to legislation By Carl Weiser The Cincinnati Enquirer July 03, 2003 -- An estimated 70 ships worth $100 billion would be built, according to Globalsecurity.org, a defense think tank.
  63. U.S. plans unmanned space-based bomber By David Rennie National Post (Canada) July 03, 2003 -- "I think that their conclusion from that exercise was that a Mach 12 suborbital air-breather might be within the realm of possibility," said John Pike, director of GlobalSecurity.org, a Washington-area think-tank.
  64. US surveillance will track every car By Tim Reid The Times (London) July 03, 2003 -- John Pike, a Washington defence analyst, said: "Once Darpa demonstrates that it can be done, a number of companies would likely develop their own version in the hope of getting contracts from local police, nuclear plant security, shopping centres, even people looking for deadbeat dads."
  65. List of major base closings by state and year Scripps Howard News Service July 03, 2003 -- Source: GlobalSecurity.org
  66. U.S. Willing to Send Troops to Help Liberia By Robin Wright and Esther Schrader The Los Angeles Times July 03, 2003 -- The number of troops that might be sent to Liberia "is chump change, that's way to the right of the decimal point," agreed John Pike, a military analyst who is director of GlobalSecurity.org, a Washington think tank.
  67. 3 Top Shuttle Managers Replaced By Kathy Sawyer and Eric Pianin The Washington Post July 03, 2003 -- Space policy analyst John Pike, of GlobalSecurity.org, a national security Web site, echoed the board's approach, saying, "I don't think the problem was incompetence on the part of specific individuals. The problem was the way the program was set up . . . organized, administered and funded."
  68. Congressional bill could allow GE to build new Navy ship engine The Associated Press July 03, 2003 -- An estimated 70 DD(X) ships worth $100 billion will be built, according to Globalsecurity.org, a defense think tank.
  69. US launches effort to develop hypersonic strike capability By Maxim Kniazov Agence France Presse July 02, 2003 -- "I think that their conclusion from that exercise was that a Mach 12 suborbital air-breather might be within the realm of possibility," John Pike, director of GlobalSecurity.org, a Washington area think tank, told AFP.
  70. Nuclear Crisis North Korea Weapons WORLD NEWS TONIGHT WITH PETER JENNINGS (06:30 PM ET) - ABC July 01, 2003 -- JOHN PIKE, DIRECTOR, GLOBALSECURITY.ORG: The US intelligence community expects that the North Koreans are doing the same thing that the United States did in its early atomic bomb program, going from atomic bombs that weigh several tons to atomic bombs that weigh less than a ton.
  71. Pentagon developing system to track every vehicle in a city By Michael J. Sniffen The Associated Pres July 01, 2003 -- "Government would have a reasonably good idea of where everyone is most of the time," said John Pike, a GlobalSecurity.org defense analyst.
  72. US-based missiles to have global reach: US to build missiles with global reach By Julian Borger The Guardian (London) July 01, 2003 -- In other words, said John Pike, head of Washington think tank GlobalSecurity.org: "It's about blowing people up on the other side of the planet even if no country on earth will allow us to use their territory."