Brian M Downing and the world at war. Timely, thoughtful, and nonpartisan analysis of military matters. @BrianMDowning1.
Brian M Downing The Trump administration and its Saudi allies were relieved as US interest in the Khashoggi assassination receded. The passage of time and midterm elections saw to that. Riyadh, Washington, and Jerusalem breathed easier as their hardline Iran policy seemed back on track. The issue returned to the Read More …
Brian M Downing Relations between the US and Russia have declined badly since Putin’s invasion of the Crimea and eastern Ukraine. The Trump administration is determined to bring rapprochement. The contours of an arrangement seem to be reducing sanctions on Russia in exchange for its cooperation against Iran – a 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 …
Brian M Downing The Pentagon admits to about 2,000 troops in Syria, though it declines to give a precise number. The GIs range along the northern border with Turkey and extend down the eastern bank of the Euphrates. They serve as trainers, advisors, air support spotters, logistics personnel, artillery support, Read More …
Brian M Downing A spate of gun-related killings, especially recent school massacres, have led to frustration, anger, and demands for more gun control. Calls abound for enhanced screening of gun purchases and for banning assault-style weapons and high-capacity magazines. John Paul Stevens, a retired Supreme Court Justice, knows such measures won’t Read More …
Brian M Downing If you’re looking for insight on Terry Jones and his mission of burning the Koran and getting the Islamic world to despise us even more than it already does, I recommend HL Mencken. The caustic essayist of the early twentieth century was a great writer and a Read More …
Brian M Downing Their moral passion spent most of its force in self-accusing, self-denial and self-scourging. They began by howling their sins from the mourners’ bench; they came to their end, many of them, in the supreme immolation of battle. – HL Mencken While thinking (more) about Terry Jones’s efforts Read More …
Brian M Downing The White House is obviously in a state of flux. Key personnel have come and gone in the six months of the Trump presidency and more changes may follow. There’s also been change in less prominent but nonetheless important slots. Last week, National Security Advisor and three-star Read More …
Brian M Downing I used to have fairly interesting dreams, the details of which I shall omit just now. Suffice it to say that advancing years and predilection with foreign policy have taken a toll. My reveries were usually graced with young women such as the one I chatted with Read More …