Articles
International Media
Quoted in an AlAin News report (a UAE publication) about the newly passed UN resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire. The report quotes UN officials and various international representatives and explains the official US position for abstaining, whereas I comment on the strategic messaging from this resolution, why the international community is interpreting it the wrong way and why that was inevitable, and what will happen with Israel’s policy in Gaza in light of the need to balance security commitments to Israeli constituency and Biden’s elections priorities.
Quoted in Lucy Sarrett’s article in Daily Express about the criticism of the air drop method of humanitarian aid delivery to Gaza, which has resulted in multiple deadly incidents already. I argue for better logistics and coordination on the ground, and push for more international cooperation in creating safer and better planned ways of distributing aid, which can bypass Hamas attacks and also avoid unintentional security incidents resulting from stampedes.
Quoted in Sky News Arabiaسكاي نيوز عربية interview about Ukraine’s belated effort to build trenches and fortification as Russia’s military advances deeper into its territory. Assorted obstacles that contributed to Ukraine’s shortage of defense include overreliance on international aid, failure for two donor conferences to come through with the promised money, the belated withdrawals, troop exhaustion, and belated allocation of strategic funding. Also, Russia was at an advantage in the earlier phases of the war while Ukraine was waiting for weapons deliveries and had the time to embed itself while Ukraine had to defend itself in combat the entire time.
US Media
Quoted among assorted investment & AI experts on PYMNTS.com: What’s Next in Payments, an exciting platform focused on all sorts of innovation related markets, such as AI, cryptocurrency, fintech, and digital transformation, about Saudi Arabia’s planned $40 billion investment push into developing artificial intelligence. I talk about what kind of impact a success in this area could have in transforming the Middle East, and the challenges & needs that should be addressed to make this move more than just another glitzy campaign. The article also provides many fascinating details about AI-related initiatives and projects in each of the GCC states.
“Navigating сybersecurity сhallenges in healthcare in the face of escalating cyber threats within the healthcare sector, it’s imperative to marshal robust defenses to protect sensitive patient data. Our latest analysis at Moonlock, enriched by insights from seasoned experts like Irina Tsukerman, Ani Chaudhuri, Shawn Waldman, and Robert Vitelli, sheds light on effective cybersecurity strategies crucial for healthcare organizations. Key highlights:
Identifying and mitigating top cybersecurity risks in healthcare
Actionable strategies from industry leaders to bolster data security
The critical role of comprehensive cybersecurity frameworks in ensuring patient data integrity”
I am quoted extensively among various cybersecurity and healthcare industry specialists in this essential reading by Ray Fernandez on Moonlock, a cybersecurity blog that analyzes the rapid increase in cyber attacks on the healthcare industry in recent years, including hospitals, pharmaceuticals, insurance companies, and even insurance billing agents. We discuss the reasons behind the targeting of this sector, the profound impact of the attacks, the risks for the future, and the measures that the healthcare providers, the government, and patients need to undertake to protect data privacy from extensive and growing meddling both by cybercriminals and politically motivated state actors.
Quoted in another very thorough and informative piece by Ray Fernandez in Technopedia among various cybersecurity practitioners about the emergence of a PRC-linked hacker group, Earth Krahang, linked to spear-phishing as a means of penetrating 48 governments and an array of organizations around the world. I explained Earth Krahang’s preferred methods, its cryptic relationship with I-Soon, a private commercial spyware producer recently linked to China’s spy operations around the world through a massive leak, and the way the deceptive methods Earth Krahang uses can be characterized as "false flag operations" and used to cause chaos & destroy intergovernmental trust as much as for intelligence gathering. I also talked about how misdirection and smear campaigning by way of such hacks is the future of the government-linked cyberoperations.
Quoted in The Epoch Times on Qatar’s use of Al Jazeera Channel- قناة الجزيرة as a tool of anti-Israel and antisemitic propaganda and incitement, and support for extremism and terrorism in the context of a recent incident where Al Jazeera was forced to remove a video from Gaza containing a story of a fabricated rape by the IDF. Despite clear bias in favor of Hamas, Qatar continues being used as a mediator.
Azerbaijan and South Caucasus media and issues
Quoted in Bizim Media concerning an upcoming announcement of a security pact between EU, Armenia, and the US. The Russian analyst also quoted in the article essentially indicated that Russia would see such a measure as a threat to its own interests and that implementation of specific measures, such as Armenia’s withdrawal from CSTO, could lead to a conflict. My quote focuses on Armenia’s previous propaganda that claims Baku threatened war if Armenia did not relinquish disputed territories (which it partially returned), which undercuts its effort to use such an alliance as a possible weapon to pressure its neighbor. Still, unlike the tone of the article, I do not see such an agreement as a threat to the South Caucasus interests or stability.
My comments in Report.AZ about the upcoming ceremony announcing a security pact between EU, Armenia, and the US, what that means for Russia’s role in the South Caucasus, for the peace talks between Baku and Yerevan, and for the future of the anti-Baku propaganda campaigns.
TV Video Appearances and Podcasts
I appeared in Turkish media to put to rest the conspiracy theory emanating from Russian officials and pro-Russian channels that supposedly the US was behind the terrorist attack in Moscow’s Crocus City Hall, a music concert venue. I describe the joint effort by the US and other countries to warn Russia of an impending possible attack weeks in advance, the strange episode concerning the allegedly foiled ISIS attack on a Russian synagogue, Putin’s dismissal of warnings as provocations just three days before the attack, and Russia’s interests in diverting public attention from the incompetence of its security agencies and the callous disregard for human life to an external scapegoat. Thanks, Ulker Musazad!
“In this episode of ‘The World According to Irina Tsukerman, we talk about the Baltimore Bridge collapse, the Russia Concert Attack, India’s growing role in maritime security & more.” I joined The KAJ Masterclass LIVE with Khudania Ajay - Come, Let’s Go LIVE Ajay to discuss the reasons for the Baltimore Bridge collapse, and the very real maritime concerns related to the shipping industry. We talk about the known facts, speculations, and questions related to the deadly attack in the Moscow theater and the role of ISISK, we also discuss the faulty messaging by Putin and how his comments undercut the credibility of the Russian security agencies. We then moved on to discuss the seeming Netanyahu-Biden rift over the UN Security Council ceasefire resolution, and the direction of the US-Israel relations in light of the domestic election pressures. We also discussed the situation in the Red Sea and its regional impact. WE talked about the upcoming elections in India, the arrest of an opposition leader for graft, and about the questionable Western coverage of the scandal. We discussed India’s growing role in the Indo-Pacific maritime security, why the arrested Somali pirates were smiling, and why CHina sent 4 spy ships into the Indian Ocean. We looked at China’s strategy and its messaging to India and other countries highlighting the failure of deterrence, and then we switched to the ongoing political and humanitarian crisis in Haiti and why additional foreign interventions won’t fix it. I underscored the need for strong and centralized leadership amidst dim prospects. We also looked at the healthcare cybersecurity crisis in the United States, who benefits, how, and what additional risks and dangers lie in the industry that lacks a framework for data security. Finally, we talked about the direction of the war in Ukraine, whether Russia can overcome its own land and maritime challenges, whether US military aid will ever come in and under what circumstances, and the role of the EU hunt for ammunition and other forms of military assistance to make a difference in the immediate future. Finally, we discuss SaudiArabia’s prospective $40 billion investment into bringing AI to KSA and how GCC involvement in semiconductor technology R&D could transform the MiddleEast. Lots more within!
“The consequences of the Security Council’s adoption of a resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza during the month of Ramadan are still continuing, especially the United States’ abstention from voting! And the impact of the decision on relations between Israel and Washington, as well as within the walls of the US Congress, which is witnessing a state of boiling and anger among pro-Israel legislators in both the Republican and Democratic parties alike. Irina Tsukerman, a researcher in national security affairs and American foreign policy, will discuss with us from New York. In this paragraph from ‘The Scene Tonight’, an interview with Ambassador Masoud Maalouf, a former diplomat and expert on American affairs.” I joined Al Mashhad المشهد TV in Dubai (UAE) to discuss the impact of the UN Security Council’s resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire on the US-Israel relations in light of PM Netanyahu’s decision to cancel meetings in Washington DC. I indicated that there is a strategic depth to the relations beyond various political crises, that Israel is well aware of the official US opposition on this matter due to the recent initiative by Washington which was vetoed by Russia & China, and that communications are muddled by the differences in private conversations and the public posturing, driven in part by domestic elections considerations in the US and the pressure by the small but loud pro-Hamas constituency. Amb. Maalouf was called upon to comment on the allegation of the Jewish and Israel lobbies disproportionately impacting US foreign policy, an old conspiracy theory widespread in the Middle East which he embraced. Rather than arguing with an irrational perception, I said that the Qatar lobbies in the US are far more concerning than Israeli lobbies, due to their very active and significant support of pro-Hamas voices, and that Hamas, as pro-Iran MuslimBrotherhood proxy is a danger to the Arab world in general, and offers no benefit to the Palestinians.
The Washington Outsider Report on the Coalition Radio
~Ep. 135
In the aftermath of a deadly terrorist attack in Russia, which killed 139 people in a Moscow concert hall and for which ISIS-KP took credit, here is a recording of a very timely discussion by The Washington Outsider Report on Coalition Radio with one of the ethnic/peripheral opposition activists in Russia, Misshi Oreshnikov, who hails from Chuvashia and gives a perspective on social and political issues in Russia rarely acknowledged and investigated by the mainstream Western media. We have all heard that ethnic and religious minorities in Russia are discriminated against and disproportionally recruited to serve in the war in Ukraine, but in this discussion we will examine the nature and history of the oppression and the social and political conditions contributing to its perpetuation. Some of the little-known facts we will learn about that run counter to Putin’s rambling version of history in the now infamous interview with Tucker Carlson:
The history of the region of Chuvashia and Volgo-Bulgaria and the brief glance at the local culture
Why many of the local Chuvash constituents are afraid of embracing their identity
How the situation in Chuvashia has improved after the breakup of the Soviet Union and why under Putin there is a new crackdown on the cultural rights in the region
The extent of the repressive measures tantamount to ethnic cleansing and details about the sanctionable officials behind these measures
How the ethnic opposition groups such as the National Renaissance Assembly ended up being sidelined from the "mainstream" Russian opposition and from the official narratives
The factors led to the rising activism among the locals and how they came to join forces with other ethnic and regional opposition groups bringing together peripheral territories and how that challenges Moscow’s attempted to enforce conformity through federal fiat
How and why Moscow’s policies illegitimately follow the Soviet plan for dividing and manipulating various ethnic groups and promoting xenophobia
The plan to recruit more followers and communicate the human rights and political needs of the National Renaissance Assembly, which promoted the reconstitution of ethnic identities by the opposition groups and share them regionally and with the rest of the world
Why the peripheral regions are tired of feeding Moscow while being economically and politically disenfranchised…
... and much more.
In short, Russia has created a climate of fear, hatred, and distrust that is backfiring and creating new and advancing forms of anti-authoritarianism throughout the country. Some of these divisions are playing out in real time; Ukraine and the Free Russian Legion have succeeded in attacking oil refineries and border cities - but who is responsible for other important military and economic targets getting smoked in other more remote areas?
Other Interesting Reads
Academia
Looks like one of my old articles is once again being used in an academic course. This time, Royal Roads University in Canada reached out about using this piece on the indifference of Western feminists to the fate of Afghan women, published in White Rose Magazine, for a spring course on Development and Human Security.