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GlobalSecurity.org In the News


November 2003 News

  1. Israelis, Palestinians to sign unofficial 'accord' By Matthew Chance CNN.com November 30, 2003 -- At least 11 Palestinian villages will end up on the Israeli side of the barrier, according to globalsecurity.org, a nonpartisan international policy-research group.
  2. NASA's new plan looks like old one By Michael Cabbage and Gwyneth K. Shaw The Orlando Sentinel November 30, 2003 - "I don't think they have the courage to candidly characterize the present situation," said John Pike, director of the public policy-research organization GlobalSecurity.org. "Namely, that we have a precarious fingerhold in space. But we're not exactly sure where we're going to go next or when we're going to go there."
  3. Palestinians demand Israeli compromise on barrier CNN.com November 29, 2003 -- At least 11 Palestinian villages will end up on the Israeli side of the barrier, according to globalsecurity.org, a nonpartisan international policy-research group.
  4. Air Force One Can Foil Missile Atttack By Vernon Loeb The Washington Post November 28, 2003 -- In terms of sophisticated antimissile systems aboard Air Force One, Thompson and John E. Pike, head of GlobalSecurity.org, a military and intelligence think tank in Alexandria, said it is reasonable to assume the plane is equipped with a new laser countermeasure being installed on C-17 military transports, the Air Force's primary cargo hauler in and out of Baghdad and other high-threat airports in Iraq.
  5. Report: Israel to close some settlements CNN.com November 28, 2003 -- The new barrier will follow the old line, but at some points will veer into the West Bank, enclosing some 77-square kilometers of occupied land. At least 11 Palestinian villages will end up on the Israeli side of the barrier, according to globalsecurity.org, a nonpartisan international policy research group.
  6. Kofi Annan calls on Israel to take down security wall CNN.com November 28, 2003 -- The new barrier will follow the old line, but at some points will veer into the West Bank, enclosing some 77-square kilometers of occupied land. At least 11 Palestinian villages will end up on the Israeli side of the barrier, according to globalsecurity.org, a nonpartisan international policy research group.
  7. Afghan copter crash claims local airman By Angela Mullins Times Herald (Port Huron, MI) November 27, 2003 -- SOURCE: www.globalsecurity.org, Associated Press, CIA World Factbook
  8. U.S. officials were reluctant to call troops occupiers By John J. Lumpkin and Dafna Linzer The Associated Press November 27, 2003 -- The report, marked "For Official Use Only," was obtained by The Associated Press, the Washington security think tank Globalsecurity.Org and other outlets.
  9. Sharon: Israel must make 'painful concessions' CNN.com November 27, 2003 -- The new barrier will follow the old line, but at some points will veer into the West Bank, enclosing some 77-square kilometers of occupied land. At least 11 Palestinian villages will end up on the Israeli side of the barrier, according to globalsecurity.org, a nonpartisan international policy research group.
  10. Raytheon site features good reviews of missile By Ross Kerber The Boston Globe November 27, 2003 -- Some outsiders say the Webpackage has the effect of an advertisement, anyway. "It's basically guys in uniforms giving product endorsements," said John Pike, director of GlobalSecurity.org, a Washington research group. He called the Raytheon Web package "peculiar" but said he expects to see more like it as defense contractors emphasize conventional victories rather than the messy unconventional conflict now under way.
  11. Shift Begins For Military Overseas Large-Scale Redeployment Around World By Bryan Bender The Boston Globe November 26, 2003 -- "A lot of those forces that were deployed from Germany down to Iraq are just going to stay in Iraq, and a lot of American bases in Germany are going to get closed" said John Pike, director of the GlobalSecurity.org think tank. "Basically what they are trying to do is come up with some conceptual construct that accounts for the persistent American presence in Iraq and in [Central Asia]."
  12. Scandal rocks Boeing; CFO fired By David Bowermaster The Seattle Times November 25, 2003 -- Boeing has sold itself for years as a systems integration company, as somebody who can be trusted with the government's money," said John Pike, director of Globalsecurity.org. "For the last several years, we keep peeling back the layers on why we can't trust that company."
  13. Military sees flaws in Patriot usage By Ross Kerber Boston Globe 23 November 2003 - John Pike, director of GlobalSecurity.org, said the report struck him as "dancing around the issues" because it did not discuss the friendly-fire deaths or provide an exact accounting of battlefield engagements.
  14. Army Reserve battling an exodus By Robert Schlesinger Boston Globe 23 November 2003 - "The Army has invested an enormous amount of money in training these people, and they're very hard to replace," said John Pike of globalsecurity.org, an independent research group in Washington.
  15. Uprising seen against the West John Koopman San Francisco Chronicle November 22, 2003There appears to be a "Ramadan uprising," in which terrorist leaders -- possibly Osama bin Laden -- sent out the message worldwide that "Ramadan is a good time to die," said John Pike, director of Globalsecurity.org.
  16. What's your online broker doing to prevent ID theft? By Scott Banerjee CBS MarketWatch November 21, 2003 -- George Smith, senior fellow at globalsecurity.org, a national security think-tank, says keeping everybody protected against increasingly sophisticated theft techniques will be difficult. "There's always going to be a wide-open pool of targets."
  17. Guam's skies provide edge for air forces' joint training By Gene Park Pacific Daily News (Hagatna, Guam) November 20, 2003 -- GlobalSecurity.org: www.globalsecurity.org/military/ ops/cope-north.htm
  18. The truth behind the US's 'Iron Fist' By David Isenberg Asia Times Online November 20, 2003 -- Recently, the division's official after-action report was obtained by the Alexandria, Virginia-based group GlobalSecurity.org and posted on its website. The 281-page report is notable for its dispassionate warts and a record of how it performed during the war. While it does not stint on praising itself for things that went well, it does not avoid discussing the things that went badly and the need for improvements.
  19. Security Experts Concerned About Cyber-Terrorism By Meredith Buel VOA News.com November 20, 2003 -- A senior analyst with the Internet company GlobalSecurity.org, George Smith, is less critical of the government's efforts to make information technology more secure. (...) "I have to be a realist that we have not seen any direct physical attacks that rise to the level that fit the long-term prognostications of the doomsayers," said George Smith.
  20. A Time for Reflection Or for Destruction?; Scholars, Analysts Split on Ramadan Threats By Richard Leiby The Washington Post November 18, 2003 -- "At the rate the body bags are showing up, November is going to be the worst month of the war," predicts John Pike, director of GlobalSecurity.org, a respected defense and intelligence Web site. "There will be more dead Americans at the end of November than at the end of March or April."
  21. Low-Tech Grenades A Danger to Helicopters By Renae Merle The Washington Post November 18, 2003 -- The only protection against rocket-propelled grenades is tactical, said John E. Pike, director of GlobalSecurity.org. When on assault missions the helicopters must maintain the advantage of surprise to ensure that they can avoid an ambush, he said. "You have to make sure that a helicopter does not get within a few hundred feet of where a [rocket-propelled grenade] can come from," said Pike.
  22. So Then Mr Bush, Where Is Saddam? By Charles Reiss The Evening Standard (London) November 18, 2003 -- John Pike, a leading US independent defence analyst and director of military information website globalsecurity.org, said: 'We haven't found Saddam Hussein for the same reason that we haven't found Osama bin Laden or Mullah Omar which is, quite simply, that they have been effectively hidden.'
  23. New role in Iraq for local Marines By Rick Rogers and James W. Crawley San Diego Union-Tribune November 17, 2003 -- "Thank God for the Marines, because the Army needs them," said defense analyst Patrick Garrett with GlobalSecurity.org, an independent think tank in Alexandria, Va.
  24. Reserve redesigner ready to shake up north state bases By Kiley Russell Contra Costa Times November 17, 2003 -- The job involves deciding how many of what types of units are going to be in the Army Reserve versus the National Guard versus the active duty Army, said John Pike of GlobalSecurity.org, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank.
  25. Helicopter-related deaths rising in Iraq By Al Kamen and Thomas E. Ricks The Washington Post November 16, 2003 -- The Black Hawk, a light transport helicopter, is the Army's frontline utility helicopter. It is designed to carry 11 combat-ready assault troops, and is also used for medical evacuations. As of early 2002, the Army had about 1,500 Black Hawk helicopters in various configurations in its fleet, according to globalsecurity.org, an independent think tank on defense issues.
  26. 17 soldiers die as 2 US helicopters crash in Iraq By Robert Schlesinger Boston Globe November 16, 2003 -- "There's no alternative," said John Pike of GlobalSecurity.org, a defense think tank. "The alternative in Iraq is to haul stuff around by convoy and then you're going to get hit by a land mine.
  27. Arsenal worker involved in U.S. tank investigation By Ed Tibbetts The Quad-City Times November 16, 2003 -- A military analyst with the Globalsecurity.org think tank says that, as of a week ago, there still was not an answer. (...) "They were designed to deal with the Soviet juggernaut," Garrett said. They are not supposed to be stopped by a pencil-thin projectile. "That's what's very confusing about it," he added.
  28. Crucial weeks in Iraq By Nicholas M. Horrock United Press International November 14, 2003 - "The wild card is whether these most recent attacks are the Ramadan offensive," argued John E. Pike, director of the defense and security think tank GlobalSecurity.org, "a maximum effort for the insurgency and January looks like June or things get worse and January looks like November."
  29. N. Korea's Ace in the Hole By Barbara Demick Los Angeles Times November 14, 2003 -- "The place is like Swiss cheese, there are so many holes," said John Pike, a defense analyst with GlobalSecurity.org, a consulting firm in Alexandria, Va.
  30. La Era Post Sadam / El Futuro Politico By Pablo Pardo El Mundo November 13, 2003 -- EEUU afronta otros problemas para iraquizar la guerra. Como ha explicado a este periodico John Pike, del centro de estudios Global Security, en Virginia, "existe un limite al numero de tropas que los estadounidenses pueden reclutar y formar para que sean capaces de combatir. No se puede crear un Ejercito de la noche a la manana".
  31. Is government ignoring the threat of cyberterrorism? By William Jackson Government Computer News November 12, 2003 -- George Smith, a senior fellow with Globalsecurity.org of Alexandria, Va., and co-editor of vmyths.com, which combats what it calls computer hysteria, was less critical of the state of IT security. "We haven't seen any direct physical attacks that fit the prognostications of the doomsayers," Smith said.
  32. Al-Qaeda keeps reminding it is a threat to be reckoned with By Patrick Anidjar Agence France Presse November 11, 2003 -- Patrick Garrett, the head of GlobalSecurity.org, a Washington think-tank on defence and terrorism, said al-Qaeda "continues to demonstrate that they are able to conduct operations with relative ease in the outside world."
  33. Bay Area civilian vanishes in Iraq By Colin Freeman San Francisco Chronicle November 11, 2003 -- The case is thought to be the first disappearance involving a private contractor in Iraq. John Pike, an expert on defense and intelligence policy and director of GlobalSecurity.org, said the U.S. military routinely hired private-sector contractors to help with any task not directly related to warfare -- especially now that it is settling in for a long stay in Iraq.
  34. North Korea 'Validates' Its A-Bomb Designs: CIA By John M. Donnelly Defense Week November 10, 2003 -- John Pike, director of GlobalSecurity.org, a security think tank in Washington, D.C., believes the CIA's assessment is probably accurate-and significant. "Would North Korea have to conduct a nuclear-yield test in order to have a credible deterrent? The answer is no," he said. The CIA letter means the agency thinks the North Koreans "have got the bomb now, rather than that they will have the bomb," he said. The document signifies that "North Korea could nuke Hiroshima without having to conduct a test in advance."
  35. Port Huron soldier killed in Iraq By Angela Mullins Times Herald (Port Huron, MI) November 10, 2003 -- Source: www.fas.org, www.globalsecurity.org.
  36. Soldier Shares What He Saw During War in Iraq By Joseph Ditzler Albuquerque Journal (New Mexico) November 09, 2003 -- The 3rd Infantry Division, approaching Baghdad from the southwest, began an attack April 2 on the city airport. American tanks broke through a defensive perimeter set up by Iraqi Republican Guards the next day, according to the Web site GlobalSecurity.org.
  37. GI Jane deaths hit middle America By Sarah Baxter Sunday Times (London) November 9, 2003 -- "We don't know yet whether the body count of the last two weeks will turn out to be normal, but these are real numbers," said John Pike of defence lobbyist GlobalSecurity.org. "If it stays in the double digits, it's going to grate."
  38. Perilous Balancing Act in Space; Columbia Creates Ripple Effects for The Space Station By Eric Pianin and Kathy Sawyer The Washington Post November 9, 2003 -- John Pike, an independent space policy expert who heads Globalsecurity.org, said, "For the longest time, NASA has said they need three people to maintain the station. The notion you would be in a [spacewalk] situation with everyone on the outside and no one on the inside . . . strikes me as not giving them very much in the way of backup and redundancy."
  39. US turns wrath on resistance fighters: Report claims Bush team has bungled peace By Peter Beaumont and Dan Plesch The Observer November 9, 2003 -- An official US army review leaked to the US NGO globalsecurity.org has revealed that the army had no plan for the occupation of Baghdad. Officially titled the Third Infantry Division (Mechanised) After Action Report, Operation Iraqi Freedom, the study provides the first formal internal view of the Iraq war from the point of view of the soldiers who brought down Saddam Hussein.
  40. Flying Targets: Copter Designers Must Weight Safety, Efficiency By Michael Remez Hartford Courant (Connecticut) November 8, 2003 -- "There is a reason this has been a weapon of choice for a long time," said John Pike, a military analyst and founder of GlobalSecurity.org. "Unlike more sophisticated heat-seeking or radar guided missiles, it requires no guidance beyond good eyesight and bravery."
  41. Copter Crashes Prompt Army to Review Procedures By Greg Miller and Patrick J. McDonnell Los Angeles Times November 8, 2003 -- RPGs, as they're called, "are like trap-and-skeet shooting," said Tim Brown, a senior fellow at Globalsecurity.org. Their success, he said, "just depends on how lucky the guy is and how many RPGs he's fired."
  42. Crash Kills 6 GIs By Mohamad Bazzi Newsday (New York) November 8, 2003 -- SOURCES: Federation of American Scientists, www.globalsecurity.org, The Associated Press
  43. Attack shows need for new U.S. tactic By James R. Carroll The Courier-Journal, Louisville, KY November 8, 2003 -- Exactly what factions are conducting the attacks isn't known, but they "probably are getting their act more together," said Patrick Garrett, associate analyst for globalsecurity.org, an international security organization in Alexandria, Va.
  44. A Pentagon With No Papers By Fred Kaplan Slate Magazine November 7, 2003 -- The 200-plus-page report "an internal but unclassified document available on the globalsecurity.org Web site "is, for the most part, a meticulously detailed analysis of the division's combat performance during Operation Iraqi Freedom: its strengths and shortcomings in harnessing firepower, maneuver, mobility, logistics, intelligence, coordination with other services, and so forth. However, the report also contains a critique of the division's "and, by extension, the U.S. military establishment's "handling of the postwar phase.
  45. US giant puts up $5m to trap hackers By Suzanne Goldenberg The Guardian November 5, 2003 -- "It is not going to change the culture of virus writers, and it is not going to deter the writing of viruses," said George Smith of internet analysts Global Security in California. He described the bounties as too little, too late, and accused Microsoft of avoiding improvements to software security.
  46. 3 Blasts Seem Aimed at U.S. Compound By Dexter Filkins The New York Times November 5, 2003 -- Source by GlobalSecurity.org
  47. Durbin: Guard aircraft shortchanged By Jill Zuckman Chicago Tribune November 5, 2003 -- Tim Brown, a senior fellow at GlobalSecurity.org, a private defense and military think tank, said National Guard and Reserve units typically do not receive the latest equipment. "They get the hand-me-downs, generally," he said.
  48. "Si no vuelven en Navidad, Bush pierde las elecciones" By Maria Ramirez El Mundo November 3, 2003 -- El caos creciente y la guerrilla recuerdan, segun centros de estudios como Global Security, a la Guerra de Vietnam.
  49. Dyer: Letting U.N. take over would likely benefit both Bush and Iraq By Gwynne Dyer The Salt Lake Tribune November 03, 2003 -- It's a mess that's going from bad to worse -- and yet, we are constantly told, it would be even worse if the United States pulled out of Iraq now. All the American and British pundits tell us so, even the relatively sensible ones like John Pike of GlobalSecurity.org: "The problem at the moment is that if they turn the country over to the Iraqi Governing Council . . . some guy with a moustache is going to come in and shoot them and say he's in charge."
  50. The Dawn of the E-Bomb By Michael Abrams IEEE Spectrum Online November 01, 2003 -- The wide disparity in opinions and the uncertainty about microwave weapons, from Loren Thompson on one end to Arthur Varanelli on the other, are all part of what makes them so powerful, says military analyst John Pike, who is director of GlobalSecurity.org (Alexandria, Va.). "It all depends on the complex interactions between the weapon and the target," he notes. "I can set up a strap-down chicken test that makes [an HPM weapon] look pretty good. But as soon as I start getting into real-world targets, maybe it doesn't work so well."
  51. EVENT: BOOK FORUM - CATO INSTITUTE -- PARTICIPANTS: Dan Verton, author and George Smith, Globalsecurity.org