Articles
International Media
Quoted in this fascinating article by Yasser Khalil in Annahar Al Arabi about the report against a hardline Salafist preacher in the US made to the FBI by Wael Ghoneim, a well-known Egyptian social media personality and activist. I explained that the legal repercussions are likely to be negligible due to the broad free speech and religious freedom protections in the US. The preacher and the report have sparked a great deal of debate in the Egyptian online discussions due to the fact that on the one hand he is anti-Hamas and anti-Muslim Brotherhood, but on the other hand has attacked Christianity and women’s rights, as well as Jews and gays, among other targets.
Azerbaijan and South Caucasus Media and Issues
I am one of the commentators quoted in Mirror publications responding to Nikki Haley’s remarks that the next US president is going to be a woman. I explained that Haley’s chances are low EVEN in the case of Trump’s ultimate ineligibility to run, and that Kamala Harris is so unqualified for the Oval Office that Democrats will do everything possible to prop up Biden - and might rather change him to another candidate last minute than risk the chance of getting stuck with Harris.
TV Video Appearances and Podcasts
I appeared on Azerbaijan’s SVS TV to discuss President Aliyev’s meeting with Secretary Blinken, John Kerry, and other US officials at the Munich Security Conference, and what that means for the course of the US-Azerbaijan relations. We discussed what the interests in climate change, energy, and the peacebuilding process between Baku and Armenia mean for US foreign policy towards the South Caucasus; how the US and Azerbaijan managed to get past the diplomatic hurdles resulting from the Armenian lobby meddling in US policy towards Azerbaijan; why the finalized peace process would require Yerevan to give up the continuing propaganda and pro-separatism communication push; we also talked about the potential for future collaboration between Baku and Washington in various areas, and how COP29 serves Azerbaijan’s diplomatic interest; finally, we took a look at the successes of the Munich Security Conference, including high level meetings with officials from Germany, the opportunities for course correction in that relationship, and how that could benefit the region.
“Recent reports suggest Israeli flag carrier El Al has been targeted by cyber attackers attempting to divert aircraft from their destinations.
Who has claimed responsibility for the incidents? Are passengers in danger of future attacks? And how could this impact the ongoing Israel-Gaza conflict?
Cybersecurity commentator, Irina Tsukerman, joins William Hallowell on The Aviation Briefing podcast by EVA Magazine to discuss reports that Israeli flag carrier El Al has been targeted by cyber attackers in recent days.”
We discussed what these attacks mean for El Al/Israel in particular and the aviation industry as a whole, how these attacks could evolve and become more sophisticated in the future, what measures the airline and the Israeli government are likely taking in response to these attacks, whether or not these incidents were in fact “security” incidents, and we also discussed geopolitical conditions and recent threats in the Red Sea region.
I joined CNN-News18’s “World 360” with Senior News Editor Ayushman Singh Jamwal to discuss the US veto of the UNSC Resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. The United States has vetoed a United Nations Security Council demand for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in the war between Israel and Palestinian group Hamas in Gaza. I appeared on the show along with a Palestinian analyst. Some of the points I made, at least in part in response to his:
that the text of the Algeria-backed ceasefire resolution presented to the vote by the UNSC made no mention of the Israeli hostages
that the US was well within its rights to veto such a document
that it was indeed a mistake by Israel to include Qatar in any part of its hostage negotiation process or to hope for any sort of a permanent truce with Hamas, but that the mistake was made with the good intention of trying to save lives
that everyone is well aware of Qatar’s insidious roles, but those of the Palestinians who are blaming Israel for Qatar’s deception with Hamas should feel free to call for a full refund of all the money back to Qatar and to boycott Qatar’s further assistance; and furthermore, Qatar should not be any part of the process now as it clearly has failed to—perhaps deliberately so—to achieve credible results, or has done so extremely belatedly (also likely deliberately).
That Israel’s response to Hamas in the form of the prolonged fighting in Gaza is unavoidable, given that Hamas uses the same tactics as Houthis and Hizbullah to hold its population hostage, use human shields, recruit child soldiers, indoctrinate its population in hatred, rely on assistance from local civilians both on October 7 and afterwards, including in the abductions of hostages, and turn the entire infrastructure of Gaza including all types of civilian and even residential buildings into command and control centers for their fighters as well as entry and exit sites for tunnels used to smuggle hostages, fighters, and weapons.
I explained that we have seen a very similar approach of playing on false sympathies by Houthis in Yemen who used the same tactics against the Saudi-led Arab Coalition, which should now know better than to attack and condemn Israel over its response to Hamas.
I proffered that if the Arab World and the rest of the international community are as concerned about saving Palestinian lives as they profess, they should be joining Israel and working with Israel to eliminate Hamas as quickly as possible and to demilitarize and deradicalize Gaza.
The Washington Outsider Report on the Coalition Radio
-Ep. 130
Up on The Washington Outsider Report on Coalition Radio: An in-depth discussion with Dr. Fred Hoffman, D.Sc. about the lessons that could be gleaned from the role of intelligence during the Cold War for the geopolitical and security challenges facing the world today. We talk about…
the historic and personal reasons behind Putin’s obsession with Western intelligence agencies and NATO
the information context for the operations of HUMINT officers in Berlin in the 1980s
the advantages US had in the information sphere to take on the Soviet Union and its satellites - can it be resurrected to deal with more complex information warfare challenges today?
Why today’s Russia is fixated on disinformation-fueled chaos and divisions - and what we can learn about Russian intelligence from past experience
the challenges facing open liberal democratic societies in dealing with closed autocratic societies - can they be bypassed?
what role can the security agencies play in preventing innovative technologies from being abused - without exacerbating social distrust of the government and domestic polarization
how the US and its allies can "win friends and influence people" despite discreditation efforts by their enemies
what can be done to decouple institutions from adversarial penetration
... and so much more!
The Washington Outsider
Scott Morgan provides some insight into yet another militant group, Red Tabara, contributing to destabilization in parts of Africa.