Brian M Downing and the world at war. Timely, thoughtful, and nonpartisan analysis of military matters. @BrianMDowning1.
Brian M Downing Benjamin Netanyahu has returned to power astride a stridently majoritarian religious-nationalist bloc. His initial acts were harsh crackdowns on Palestinians, dire warnings to Iran, and attempts to weaken the judiciary. In so doing he’s created fierce civil unrest, alienated a good deal of American-Jewish support, and threatened Read More …
Brian M Downing US and aligned forces in Syria have come under intermittent attacks over the years – by ISIL, government and rebel groups, Iranian militias, and even Putin’s Wagner Group. The attacks stepped up last week as Iranian drones hit US positions in the east. The US responded quickly Read More …
Brian M Downing The view here has long been that China, along with Russia, would gain influence in the Persian Gulf at the US’s expense. Beijing took an important step last week when it brokered an agreement between Saudi Arabia and Iran to reopen diplomatic ties. The UAE, another Sunni Read More …
Brian M Downing Iran slipped in importance when Russia invaded Ukraine. The mullahs and generals have returned to center stage, nudged by allies and enemies but mostly on their own. They have crushed dissidents, supplied Russia with weapons, and enriched uranium near weapons-grade levels. The advancing nuclear program makes attacks Read More …
Brian M Downing China and Russia, though enemies for centuries, have aligned to weaken the West and create a new world order dominated from Beijing and Moscow. Putin discussed the Ukraine war with his partner not long before he crossed the border a year ago. Xi is the senior partner, Read More …
Brian M Downing China and Russia were enemies for centuries as the tsars expanded from the Urals to the Pacific and took Chinese territory along the way. Even when both states were overtly communist, there were tensions and even border skirmishes over territory. The bloodiest one, in 1969, led to Read More …
Brian M Downing Putin’s war on Ukraine shows no sign of relenting. The Donbas campaign has brought only limited gains at great cost and even they are being lost to counterattacks. The war is moving toward stalemate. Artillery exchanges might soon predominate. The entire world is affected. With less Russian Read More …
Brian M Downing China and Russia put aside centuries of conflict and forged an alliance to weaken US global power. Each power has pricked US positions along the Eurasian land mass, looking for weaknesses in Washington and its allies. China is an economic power with a growing navy. Russia Read More …
Brian M Downing Throughout the Cold War Soviet and American planes buzzed each other, their ships slipped in and out of the other’s territory and otherwise tested each other. Probes were sometimes done with a wink, sometimes with malice. China was weak and relatively inactive then. By the late sixties Read More …
Brian M Downing Saudi Arabia and Iran have compelling domestic incentives to pursue negotiations and ease tensions. Dialog is almost certainly being encouraged by China. It may even have helped initiate it. It has considerable influence on both sides of the Gulf and ambition to replace the United States as Read More …