GlobalSecurity.org In the News

December 2012 News

1. Afghanistan female air force pilots left grounded By David Zucchino Los Angeles Times 27 December 2012 -- The tiny Afghan air force (Raiskhail would not reveal the number of aircraft; the website GlobalSecurity.org calls Afghan air force capabilities "extremely limited") relies largely on Russian-made helicopters.
2. Drones to replace F-16 fighter jets over Des Moines By Andrew J. Nelson The Omaha World Herald 19 December 2012 -- “The circumstances where you would use tactical aviation have diminished over the past decade,” [Pike] said.
3. What North Korea's Rocket Launch Tells Us About Iran's Role NPR 14 December 2012 -- "They have demonstrated not merely an ability to identify problems, but to resolve those problems and get the total system to work together, all three stages working as a single launch vehicle," [Charles Vick] said.
4. A look at North Korea's missile arsenal The Associated Press 12 December 2012 -- They are single-stage, liquid-fuel missiles on mobile launchers, according to FAS and GlobalSecurity.org.
5. What North Korea Gained By Joshua Lipes Radio Free Asia 12 December 2012 -- “It’s sending a message that they are a power to be dealt with and that they want the proper respect and attention accordingly,” Vick said.
6. Crashes Raise Concern About Pakistani Air Force By Sebastian Abbot Associated Press 11 December 2012 -- [Mirage fighters] make up at least a quarter of the force's fleet of about 400 combat aircraft, according to the website GlobalSecurity.org.
7. Secret Space Plane Just Launched on a Mystery Mission By David Axe Wired.com: Danger Room 11 December 2012 -- John Pike from the Virginia-based Globalsecurity.org claimed, half-jokingly, that confusion was the whole point. “It acquired a life of its own.”
8. North Korea says it is extending rocket launch window for a week to Dec. 29 Fox News 10 December 2012 -- Charles Vick...says bad weather has led to temperature has turned the fueling process into a "technical mess" for the North Koreans, dismissing any political motivation for the extension of the launch period.
9. F-16 Engines Stolen From Israel Defense Forces; An Inside Job? By Danny Choy International Science Times 10 December 2012 -- Director of defense and intelligence think tank GlobalSecurity.org, John Pike, also adds that an old F-16 engine is still "better than anything the communist Chinese have."
10. Air Force's X-37B mini-shuttle shrouded in secrecy By Todd Halvorson USA Today 09 December 2012 -- "It acquired a life of its own. And now to the extent that it might be said to have any larger purpose, it would be to bewilder the Chinese." [Pike Said]
11. Gen. Austin selected to lead ongoing Afghan war effort By John Ramsey The Fayetteville Observer 07 December 2012 -- "I think the challenge that he's going to face is that on the one hand, there's going to be a lot of political pressure for accelerating the drawdown and very little support for keeping it at a slower pace," said Pike.
12. Golden Spike Company Unveils Plans to Fly Commercial Crews to the Moon By Adam Mann Wired.com 06 December 2012 -- “I would say that Stern doesn’t have enough zeros in his budget,” said space policy expert John Pike, who directs GlobalSecurity.org and worked for 20 years with the Federation of American Scientists.
13. Golden Spike space venture wants to fly you to the moon ... for $1.4 billion By Alan Boyle NBCNews.com 06 December 2012 -- But John Pike,...who heads GlobalSecurity.org, said he was "deeply skeptical" about Golden Spike's business plan. "If you could do it this cheap, somebody would have already done it," he told me.
14. What Assets Could US Military Use Against Syrian Chemical Sites? By Michael Lipin VOA 06 December 2012 -- GlobalSecurity.org director John Pike said the U.S. 82nd Airborne Division could move a brigade into Syria within 12 hours of being given the task.
15. Fearing post-2014 environment, Afghans buy up weapons By Heath Druzin Stars and Stripes 05 December 2012 -- “I think it’s an indicator that things may well rapidly go back to what they were before,” [Joseph Trevithick] said.
16. Syria: first state with WMDs to topple? By Tom A. Peter The Christian Science Monitor 05 December 2012 -- “The concerns have to be that particularly as Assad’s army begins to fall apart he won’t have complete control and discipline in every unit, and that’s certainly the case in the Free Syrian Army...,” says John Pike, director of GlobalSecurity.org.
17. US Very Concerned About Syria’s Sarin Gas By Luis Ramirez VOA 04 December 2012 -- “Unless you’re in a full body suit and have a fully sealed gas mask, two to three parts per million will kill you. It’s a nerve agent," said Brown.