GlobalSecurity.org In the News

October 2007 News

1. Report: Strategic air base being readied for war on Iran By Bill Van Auken World Socialist Web Site October 31, 2007 -- “It’s a powerful coincidence that (the Pentagon claims) it’s going to have this thing soon and we’re possibly going to be bombing Iran,” John Pike, the chief defense analyst at GlobalSecurity.org, told the Kansas City Star earlier this year. “There’s a mission made for this bomb.”
2. NY Times: Syrian site may have been built in 2001 By Talia Dekel The Jerusalem Post October 28, 2007 -- John E. Pike, who directs a private group that analyzes satellite images, GlobalSecurity.org, said it was "uncommon to see such activity in the middle of nowhere," adding that American spy satellites and analysts had watched the site for years.
3. Rep. Skelton makes good on his pledge of oversight The Associated Press October 28, 2007 -- "Congressional hearings and investigations can bring to light information that might otherwise be pretty scarce," said John Pike, a defense analyst at GlobalSecurity.org, an Alexandria, Va., think tank
4. Air Force dealing with F-16 crashes By Scott Lindlaw The Associated Press October 28, 2007 -- "That might be putting wear and tear on the planes," said John Pike, director of the Washington-based military think tank Globalsecurity.org.
5. Will Bush really bomb Iran? By Sarah Baxter The Sunday Times October 28, 2007 -- As for the urgent request for the Big Blu, it has “bombing Iran written all over it”, said John Pike, a defence expert at the think tank GlobalSecurity.org.
6. Yet Another Photo of Site in Syria, Yet More Questions By William J. Broad and Mark Mazzetti The New York Times October 27, 2007 -- John E. Pike, director of GlobalSecurity.org, a private group in Alexandria, Va., that analyzes satellite images, said the 2003 picture showed the tall building in the midst of early construction, surrounded by churned earth. He put the groundbreaking in 2001.
7. 'Sensitive' documents indicate Cheyenne Mountain's better for NORAD By Michael De Yoanna Colorado Springs Independent October 25, 2007 -- John Pike, a leading defense expert and director of GlobalSecurity.org, says NorthCom's transition from the mountain is a "little difficult to understand," given that the nation has nuclear missiles ready to launch on "hair-trigger alert."
8. Experts: Pentagon Pushing Bunker Buster for Iran Use Agence France Presse October 25, 2007 -- "I do know they got interested in this around the time the Iranians began backfilling the large uranium enrichment facility at Natanz," said John Pike, director of GlobalSecurity.org, which follows military issues.
9. Photos said to show Israeli target in Syria-paper Reuters October 24, 2007 -- "You can look at North Korea's (reactor) buildings, and they look like nothing," John Pike, a nuclear expert and director of GlobalSecurity.org, told the Post.
10. Photographs Said to Show Israeli Target Inside Syria By Robin Wright and Joby Warrick The Washington Post October 24, 2007 -- "You can look at North Korea's [reactor] buildings, and they look like nothing," said John E. Pike, a nuclear expert and director of GlobalSecurity.org. "They're just metal-skinned industrial buildings." The proximity of the building to a water source also is not significant by itself, Pike said.
11. China launches first lunar probe By Audra Ang The Associated Press October 24, 2007 -- "It's a very significant launch," said Charles Vick, a space analyst for the Washington think tank GlobalSecurity.org.
12. Bomb Iran? U.S. Requests Bunker-Buster Bombs By Jonathan Karl ABC News October 24, 2007 -- "You'd use it on Natanz," said John Pike of GlobalSecurity.org. "And you'd use it on a stealth bomber because you want it to be a surprise. And you put in an emergency funding request because you want to bomb quickly."
13. Item in War Request Stokes Fears of Iran Strike By John M. Donnelly CQ Today October 23, 2007 -- John Pike, an expert on defense and intelligence policy with Globalsecurity.org, said the MOP could be used against Iran’s main uranium enrichment facility at ­Natanz.
14. All eyes on IEDs By James Bernstein and Andrew Strickler Newsday October 23, 2007 -- John Pike, director of GlobalSecurity.org, a Washington-based military think tank, said expectations are that the U.S. and its allies will be battling IEDs long after American troops withdraw from Iraq.
15. Bunker busters eyed in revised war funding By Erik Holmes Air Force Times October 23, 2007 -- It is designed to penetrate as deeply as 200 feet into a target before detonating, according to GlobalSecurity.org.
16. Marines contemplate move from Anbar to Afghanistan By Mark Walker North County Times October 20, 2007 -- John Pike, a respected military observer and founder of GlobalSecurity.org in Washington, said he doubts whether the Pentagon will adopt Conway's proposal.
17. Force Protection rises, but falls By Noelle Phillips The State October 20, 2007 -- Analyst John Pike, of GlobalSecurity.org, said the military eventually will decide on one company to build the trucks. So far, the Marines are buying the MRAP vehicles, but the Army wants to buy them, too.
18. PNP chemist finds traces of 'C4 main component' in Makati blast ABS-CBN Interactive October 20, 2007 -- Another site, www.globalsecurity.org, describes RDX as having civilian use as well
19. Hoosier Guard unit will be split up By Robert King IndyStar.com October 19, 2007 -- Such unfamiliar working arrangements have become commonplace in Iraq as units have been stretched by longer-than-planned deployments and the recent troop surge, said John Pike, director of the military information Web site Globalsecurity.org.
20. The underground detectives By John Welbes The Pioneer Press October 19, 2007 -- John Pike, director of a Virginia-based military studies group called Globalsecurity.org, thinks it will be a mixture of electronic jamming technology and vehicles with more armor.
21. Are you relevant? By Jimmy Greenfield Redeye October 19, 2007 -- And of course, he does still matter. Don't think so? Try telling that to the parents of the 24 U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq this month according to GlobalSecurity.org.
22. Sunni group decries KRG, Hunt Oil deal United Press International October 18, 2007 -- The group, which GlobalSecurity.org calls “the highest Sunni authority in Iraq,” says the Kurdistan Regional Government deal with Hunt Oil, signed early last month, will pilfer Iraq’s vast oil wealth.
23. Civil War: The Day After Redeye October 18, 2007 -- "In Bosnia there was nothing worth fighting for, where there is something worth fighting for in Iraq because there is no oil in Sunnistan. Ethnic cleansing is not just going to be to stabilize the front—it's going to be over who controls the oil." —John Pike, GlobalSecurity.org
24. The Russian Bear Growls By Andrew C. Schneider The Kiplinger Letter October 17, 2007 -- "Russia has been on a fifteen-year procurement holiday," says John Pike, director of GlobalSecurity.org.
25. U.S. missile fired mistakenly in Qatar By Thomas E. Ricks The Washington Post October 17, 2007 -- The missile was fired by Battery A, 3rd Battalion of the 43rd Air Defense Artillery while it was training, the Central Command official said. PAC-3 missiles cost more than $4 million each, according to GlobalSecurity.org, a defense think tank.
26. Hoyer: Dems 'revisiting positions' on 'genocide' resolution CNN.com October 17, 2007 -- Incirlik offers 10,000- and 9,000-foot runways and 57 hardened aircraft shelters, according GlobalSecurity.org, a source of background information about military issues.
27. 2006 space expenditures of $220 billion show 18% increase By Loring Wirbel EE Times October 10, 2007 -- In government line items, $62 billion in U.S. space included an estimated $9.9 billion for the National Reconnaissance Office, and $2.67 billion for the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency, numbers estimated by John Pike's GlobalSecurity.org. NRO numbers exceeded those of the Missile Defense Agency, which had a 2006 budget of $9.3 billion.
28. Marine took files as part of spy ring By Rick Rogers San Diego Union-Tribune October 06, 2007 -- “It gives operational security people brain cooties to think about an incident like this,” said John Pike, director of GlobalSecurity.org, a think tank that focuses on emerging security concerns.
29. Amid ancient Afghan rubble strides the bionic Canuck By Rick Westhead Toronto Star October 06, 2007 -- "The war may not be good for innocent Afghans, but it's been a bonanza for companies," says John Pike, an analyst with GlobalSecurity.org, a non-profit research centre in Washington.
30. Shooting for the moon: The new space race By Dean Irvine CNN October 05, 2007 -- "There are conflicting reports of America developing stealth spy satellites, but when both China and the U.S. sit down and figure out how their military are going to operate, they measure themselves against each other and their respective space programs," says John Pike, director of independent international security think-tank, GlobalSecurity.org.
31. Did Russia Stage the Father of All Bombs Hoax? By David Axe and Solovieva Wired.com October 04, 2007 -- "You've got to approach Russian claims with skepticism," says John Pike, an analyst at the think tank GlobalSecurity.org in Alexandria, Virginia.
32. Regional nuclear war could trigger mass starvation By Rob Edwards NewScientist.com October 03, 2007 -- The fallout from a nuclear war between India and Pakistan "would be far more devastating for other countries than generally appreciated," says John Pike, director of the US think tank, globalsecurity.org. "Local events can have global consequences."
33. The atoms family By Sam Ser The Jerusalem Post October 03, 2007 -- "For Israel," says Pike, director of GlobalSecurity.org who testifies before Congress regularly on a range of security issues including nuclear proliferation, "the obvious concern is being surrounded by hostile states with nuclear weapons.
34. Keep Ahmadinejad talking By Chris Kaasa The Daily of the University of Washington October 01, 2007 -- The defense research group GlobalSecurity.org noted that the steady progress of Iran’s nuclear program coincides with the rising belligerence of the Iranian president’s rhetoric.