Brian M Downing and the world at war. Timely, thoughtful, and nonpartisan analysis of military matters. @BrianMDowning1.
Brian M Downing Gunmen attacked an IRGC parade in Iran’s Khuzestan province two weeks ago, killing 29 people and injuring twice that. An Arab separatist group has claimed responsibility, and so has ISIL. Tehran immediately blamed Saudi Arabia, the Emirates, and foreign backers. Earlier this week, the IRGC replied with Read More …
Reviewed by Brian M Downing ISIL has lost most of its territory in Iraq and Syria, though it’s still present in the arid, sparsely-populated lands straddling the two fragmented countries. The Islamist group also has a presence in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and surrounding areas. ISIL calls this region “Khorasan” – a Read More …
Brian M Downing President Trump, like many people, is frustrated by the lack of progress in Afghanistan. This comes only a year after he sent in more GIs. Since then, the Taliban have continued to expand their presence in rural districts and recently struck a large city, Ghazni, a hundred Read More …
Brian M Downing The Trump administration is concerned about China’s ascendance in world affairs, often at US expense. Its economy will surpass the US’s in a decade or so. Military spending has increased, especially in naval and air might. China’s territorial claims and fortified artificial islands are well known. Beijing’s Read More …
Brian M Downing President Trump has signaled displeasure with the absence of progress in the Afghanistan war. Only a year ago he dismissed his instincts to get out of the landlocked country and instead opted to send in more troops. Some NATO allies have already done so. Whether the president’s Read More …
Brian M Downing The Syrian civil war appears to be moving into a final chapter, though the region’s conflicts are prone to sudden addendums. Government forces, with the aid of Russian airpower and Iranian-trained militias, are moving on Idlib in the north and Deraa in the south. The latter campaign Read More …
Brian M Downing Yemen is in the middle of its third civil war between north and south. None of the conflicts has been sectarian to most Yemenis, even though the north is Shia and the south Sunni. The disputes have been regional in nature – the result of the north Read More …
Brian M Downing Jordan has been in the background while much of the Middle East has burned and raged. It experienced no upheaval as in Egypt, Libya, and Syria. ISIL’s presence isn’t strong in Jordan, though it has pockets of support. The Jordanian military is playing a role in fighting Read More …
Brian M Downing The collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 portended favorably for world peace, at least to some. Others saw the source of Russian-Soviet actions based not in communist ideology but rather in a national security ideology and string of ambitious rulers, both of which predate Marx and Read More …
Brian M Downing My brother need not be idealized, or enlarged in death beyond what he was in life; to be remembered simply as a good and decent man, who saw wrong and tried to right it, saw suffering and tried to heal it, saw war and tried to stop Read More …