GlobalSecurity.org is an American nonpartisan, independent, nonprofit organization that serves as a

think tank A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governmenta ...

, and research and consultancy group.

Focus

The site is focused on national and international security issues; military analysis, systems, and strategies;

intelligence Intelligence has been defined in many ways: the capacity for abstraction, logic, understanding, self-awareness, learning, emotional knowledge, reasoning, planning, creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving. More generally, it can b ...

matters; and

space policy Space policy is the political decision-making process for, and application of, public policy of a state (or association of states) regarding spaceflight and uses of outer space, both for civilian (scientific and commercial) and military purposes. I ...

analysis.

History

It was founded in December 2000 by John Pike, who had worked since 1983 with the

Federation of American Scientists The Federation of American Scientists (FAS) is an American nonprofit global policy think tank with the stated intent of using science and scientific analysis to attempt to make the world more secure. FAS was founded in 1946 by scientists who wo ...

, where he directed the space policy, cyberstrategy, military analysis, nuclear resource, and intelligence resource projects. GlobalSecurity.org is headquartered in the

Washington, D.C. metropolitan area The Washington metropolitan area, also commonly referred to as the National Capital Region, is the metropolitan area centered on Washington, D.C. The metropolitan area includes all of Washington, D.C. and parts of the states of Maryland, Virgi ...

Alexandria, Virginia Alexandria is an independent city (United States), independent city in the northern region of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately south of Downto ...

, and Pike remains as its director. The website's target audience includes journalists, policy-makers, scholars, political scientists, military and defense personnel, and the public. It supplies background information and developing news stories, providing online analysis and articles that analyze what are sometimes little-discussed topics in categories that include WMDs, military and defense,

security Security is protection from, or resilience against, potential harm (or other unwanted coercive change) caused by others, by restraining the freedom of others to act. Beneficiaries (technically referents) of security may be of persons and social ...

and

cybersecurity Computer security, cybersecurity (cyber security), or information technology security (IT security) is the protection of computer systems and networks from attack by malicious actors that may result in unauthorized information disclosure, the ...

, and

space technology Space technology is technology for use in outer space, in travel (''astronautics'') or other activities beyond Earth's atmosphere, for purposes such as spaceflight, space exploration, and Earth observation. Space technology includes space vehicles ...

. It also disseminates primary documentation and other original materials, provides detailed, high-resolution satellite images and video footage from war zones, and provides definitions of widely used terms for the public. The organization also serves as a defense, military,

foreign policy A State (polity), state's foreign policy or external policy (as opposed to internal or domestic policy) is its objectives and activities in relation to its interactions with other states, unions, and other political entities, whether bilaterall ...

, and national-security

watchdog Watchdog or watch dog may refer to: Animals *Guard dog, a dog that barks to alert its owners of an intruder's presence * Portuguese Watch Dog, Cão de Castro Laboreiro, a dog breed * Moscow Watchdog, a breed of dog that was bred in the Soviet ...

group. In part it seeks to find new approaches to international security, and promotes achieving cooperative international security and preventing nuclear proliferation. To this end it seeks to improve intelligence-community capabilities to respond to new threats and to prevent the need for military action, while at the same time enhancing the effectiveness of military forces when needed. GlobalSecurity.org was listed in the War Intelligence category of ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...

now-defunct "Best of the Web" directory from 2001 onward; the directory cited its "Depth of military information", and noted its "collection of satellite images and video footage from the war zone". In his 2004 book '' Plan of Attack'', about the behind-the-scenes decision-making that led the Bush administration to invade Iraq,

Bob Woodward Robert Upshur Woodward (born March 26, 1943) is an American investigative journalist. He started working for ''The Washington Post'' as a reporter in 1971 and now holds the title of associate editor. While a young reporter for ''The Washingto ...

called the website "an invaluable resource on military, intelligence and national security matters".

References

External links

www.globalsecurity.org

Appearances by John Pike on C-SPAN
{{authority control Internet properties established in 2000 Think tanks established in 2000 Think tanks based in Washington, D.C. Non-profit organizations based in Alexandria, Virginia Research institutes in Washington, D.C. Research organizations in the United States Terrorism research institutes Foreign policy and strategy think tanks in the United States Political and economic think tanks in the United States Science and technology think tanks Oversight and watchdog organizations