Analysis: Experts weigh in on Iraqi Playstations

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http://kevxml.infospace.com/info/kevxml?kcfg=upi-article&sin=200012271820000005061&otmpl=/upi/story.htm&qcat=news&rn=22803&qk=10&passdate=12/27/2000

By J. MARK HUFFMAN, UPI Science News

WASHINGTON, Dec. 27 (UPI) -- The Sony Playstation 2 is acknowledged as
the leading video game console and the envy of every kid, but could it
be a major asset to the Iraqi military? Experts in both defense and
video games say no, despite some concerns raised in U.S. intelligence
circles.

WorldNetDaily, a news and opinion Web site, cited a secret Defense
Intelligence Agency report stating as many as 4,000 of the game
consoles have been purchased in the United States and shipped to Iraq
late this year. The report expresses concern that the units could be
linked together to form a powerful super computer, capable of many
military uses, including control of missiles.

FBI and U.S. Customs officials are investigating the claim, but even
if it's true, Iraqi generals would likely be disappointed in the
results anyway, a Playstation 2 expert told United Press International

"As shipped, the Playstation 2 does not have the capability to link
processors in parallel. The idea that you can create a super computer
by linking ten of these units together is wrong. That's not a
capability of the Playstation 2 right out of the box," said Eric
Newhouse, group manager at Videogame Review.com, a San Francisco-based
game site.

Newhouse agreed a major advantage of the Playstation 2 over a personal
computer is its greatly enhanced graphics capabilities, but he
questioned how valuable that would be to Iraqi military applications.

"The graphics capabilities would help for modeling and design
functions, but for raw CPU issues like calculating missile trajectory,
a powerful computer would be much better," Newhouse said.

John Carey, a Washington-based defense issues consultant, is also
skeptical of the Playstation's usefulness to the Iraqi military,
especially in controlling its missiles.

"The key Iraqi problem is accuracy. No matter how sophisticated their
computers, those old Soviet-era missiles are just too inaccurate to be
a threat. That's why our ships can operate in the region without
becoming targets," Carey told UPI.

Carey, president of International Defense Consultants, said he was in
the region during the Persian Gulf War and saw the state of Iraq's
missiles at close hand. He doesn't think the use of video game
consoles will increase Iraq's offensive capabilities.

"Where a computer might help is in defending yourself from attack," he
said.

If Saddam Hussein did want to buy up large quantities of video game
consoles, however, he would have an easier time getting them past U.N.
sanctions than if he were buying regular computers. Video games are
classified as toys, which are not closely scrutinized. Computer
hardware, on the other hand, is banned under U.N. sanctions.

The Japanese government has shown sensitivity to the issue, having
slapped export controls on the game console upon its release last
April.

The Sony Playstation 2 has been a hard-to-find item since it's
introduction earlier this year. It features a 300 MHz, 128-bit CPU.
It's prized by video game enthusiasts for its speed, sound
reproduction and graphics.

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