Brian M Downing and the world at war. Timely, thoughtful, and nonpartisan analysis of military matters. @BrianMDowning1.
Brian M Downing Shortly after the Taliban regained power last month, opponents rallied in Kabul and other cities. Afghan flags were waved to show rejection of the Taliban’s white banners. Most demonstrations have ebbed. Those by women remain though, as do their videos and blogs and day-to-day resistance. Women have Read More …
Brian M Downing The Sahel is losing ground to Islamist and separatist groups. What options are available to France, the US, and local governments? Foreign combat troops The most obvious answer is to deploy French and American ground troops – not just advisors and trainers, battalions of combat troops. Drone Read More …
Brian M Downing Foreign policy has to deal with unexpected events. That’s the nature of the undertaking. The process is burdened by group think, inexperienced leaders and appointees, and pressure from lobbies – few of which call for less interventionism or see policies as unworkable. Grandiosity and arcaneness can confer workability in Read More …
Brian M Downing Sectarian antagonisms have existed in the Islamic world for centuries. They became more prominent with the Iranian Revolution (1979) and worsened when the US defeated a Sunni state in Iraq and opened the way for Shia rule. Since then, two international coalitions have formed: Shia Iran, Syria, Read More …
Brian M Downing The war in Afghanistan goes on and warmer weather brings a new Taliban campaign. The Islamist group was driven from most of the country in 2001-02 but found safe haven in Pakistan and reconstituted itself as an insurgency. Irremediable corruption in Afghan government and society has helped Read More …
A review of Ahmed S Hashim, Insurgency and Counter-Insurgency in Iraq by Brian M Downing Analyzing an ongoing war is dicey. Most historians gladly and often wisely leave it to pundits and think-tank analysts until the years have made it less dangerous to their careers. Amid the grinding war in Iraq, Read More …
Brian M Downing Great powers have come and gone from Afghanistan. None have gotten what they expected. In the 19th century, Anglo-Russian rivalry centered in the Balkans and the Crimea, but Moscow’s expansion into Central Asia threatened British India, or at least seemed to. Officers from both empires parleyed with Read More …
Brian M Downing In early October, four GIs were killed in action while serving in Niger, a landlocked desert country in West Africa. Most Americans were surprised. They were unaware of a US presence in that country and would be hard pressed to find it on a map. The same Read More …
Brian M Downing Few people had heard of the Tuareg before the wars in Libya and Mali. The Kurds were better known but the fighting in Iraq and Syria brought them to prominence. The Uighurs, a Muslim Turkic people, will make themselves better known in coming decades. Chinese policies and Read More …
Brian M Downing Three years after US troops left Iraq, Washington is considering reintroducing ground troops to fight the Islamic State. Not advisers, not beefed up embassy details; regular infantry and special forces battalions. IS’s bold victories contrast with the tired proclamations of aging al Qaeda leaders, and with the Read More …