Brian M Downing and the world at war. Timely, thoughtful, and nonpartisan analysis of military matters. @BrianMDowning1.
Brian M Downing The new administration will face a welter of foreign policy problems. Some of them were caused by the present administration, others are of longer duration that can be placed at the feet of Bush the Younger and Barack Obama. One of them is Syria. The US has Read More …
Brian M Downing The US is pulling out of Syria. Damascus, backed by Moscow, welcomed the vacuum and moved troops into Kurdish areas to counter the Turkish incursion. The view here has long been that the US presence in eastern Syria was poorly thought out and bound to end badly. Read More …
Brian M Downing President Erdogan sent troops across the border into the Kurdish region of northeast Syria. He plans to settle a strip of land with Syrian Arab refugees. This, in addition to land in the northwest, would constitute another Turkish statelet in Syrian territory, if he gets away with Read More …
Brian M Downing Turkish President Erdogan has attacked the Kurds in Syria. The US position is confused. President Trump, noting his opposition to US efforts in the region, pulled US troops from the Syria-Turkey border. Turkish troops attacked shortly later – accompanied by the Free Syrian Army which was once Read More …
Brian M Downing President Trump unexpectedly announced a pullback of US troops from the Turkish border in the Kurdish region of Syria. The US in recent years patched together an effective fighting force comprising Kurdish and Arab militias which defeated ISIL. The US will, for now, remain with Kurdish-Arab forces Read More …
Brian M Downing President Trump enjoys being unpredictable. Consistent with that penchant, he’s ordered a withdrawal of the 2,000 US troops in Syria. They’ve been there several years in support of Kurdish and Sunni forces that pushed ISIL out of most of its holdings. Reactions have begun. James Mattis is Read More …
Brian M Downing The last few months have seen numerous demonstrations in Iraq – some large and violent. They protest government incompetence and corruption but often mask the designs of the mercurial Muqtada al Sadr. Scion of a family of revered Shia clerics who opposed Saddam Hussein, Sadr has at Read More …
Brian M Downing The US, Saudi Arabia, and Israel are determined to bring change to Iran. They claim it’s violating the JCPOA, supporting terrorism, and aggressively expanding its influence in the region. The US has reimposed sanctions. More will follow in the autumn. This three-power entente wants to soften demand Read More …
Brian M Downing Sectarian conflict, chiefly between Saudi Arabia and Iran, has been underway for decades. Based at least as much on religious hatred as on national security, it reached intense levels with the Iran-Iraq War of the 80s which took hundreds of thousands of lives. Afterward, animosities lessened but Read More …
Brian M Downing The US is walking away from the JCPOA and sectarian conflict is poised to spread, intensify, and probably go on for years. The US and Israel are foursquare on the Sunni side. Iran and Saudi Arabia have been at odds since Khomeini came to power in 1979 Read More …