Brian M Downing and the world at war. Timely, thoughtful, and nonpartisan analysis of military matters. @BrianMDowning1.
Brian M Downing Hamas’s attack last year was intentionally barbaric. It was intended to elicit a disproportionate response from Netanyahu and his religious-nationalist bloc and shake up the region to the advantage of Iran, Russia, and Chins. Netanyahu is doing his part. Much of Gaza has been leveled and an Read More …
Brian M Downing The US has retaliated against IRGC personnel and proxies after three GI deaths on a small remote base near the Jordanian-Syrian border. Retaliatory trikes have gone on for several days now and aim at getting Iran to back down. There’s little sign of it. Where is this Read More …
Brian M Downing American troops in Syria and Iraq have come under fire since the Hamas war began. Over the weekend an Iranian drone struck an outpost in Jordan near its borders with Syria and Iraq. The Houthis continue to attack Western shipping in the Red Sea. It’s all part Read More …
Brian M Downing The Islamic Republic is on the move and taking advantage of Israeli-American missteps. The view here has long been that the US would benefit from better ties with Iran. Sunni-Shia enmity would ease and China’s rise in the Gulf would be put off. Israel would benefit too Read More …
Brian M Downing The Israeli government is being criticized for ignoring Egyptian warnings of a major Hamas strike. There may be a larger intelligence failure – one stretching back years and posing great danger for Israeli security and American standing. The present war isn’t just against Iran, Hamas, and aligned Read More …
Brian M Downing Hamas has launched large-scale, well-organized attacks on Israel. They started on the fiftieth anniversary of the Yom Kippur War. There are similarities. Both entailed serious Israeli intelligence failures, high casualties, and international ramifications. The Soviet Union urged Egypt and Syria to avenge their losses in the Six-Day Read More …
While running tests on the microprocessor that runs the world’s hi-tech, gifted chip designer Ethan Alon makes a puzzling discovery: an undocumented section with unknown functions. He and colleague Rina Hardin unravel the secret and discover a clandestine network monitoring defense systems around the world, especially those in the Middle Read More …
Brian M Downing Presidents inherit foreign policy burdens from their predecessors. LBJ was handed a deteriorating situation in Southeast Asia. Nixon got an unwinnable war and a public that wanted out of it. Bush the Younger bequeathed wars in Afghanistan and Iraq to Obama and Trump. Both managed to muddle Read More …
Brian M Downing Iran shows no urgency in returning to the JCPOA and getting sanctions lifted. Since the Biden administration came into office in January, Iranian militias in Iraq have stepped up attacks on US positions. The Houthis have gone on the offensive in Yemen. And most recently a drone, Read More …
Brian M Downing The results are in and the hardliners have won. That’s hardly surprising as a guardian council narrowed the field to a handful of hardliners. It’s as though all American candidates were chosen by Red or Blue apparatchiks. Low turnout did not help the reform movement. The winner Read More …