Downing Reports: Brian M Downing and the world at war
According to a London-based news source, Saudi troops have landed in the southern port of Aden. They are there to provide security in the city, not to engage the Houthis just to the north of the city, There are longstanding reports that UAE troops are engaged in combat with the Houthis.
Pentagon may have distorted data on ISIL War
The Pentagon’s inspector general is look into allegations that data on the war on ISIL may have been skewed – deliberately. There is presently no suggestion that the White House pressed for better news from conflict in Syria and Iraq. Young pilots are eager to claim great success with their payload deliveries but higher-ups go by footage, not claims.
Iranian dissidents support nuclear deal
Prominent critics of the Tehran government, including Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shirin Ebadi, have voiced their support for the deal. Some of them say that reduced sanctions will improve the well-being and human rights of their people.
ISIL recruitment network raided
Authorities in Morocco and Spain have arrested 14 people for recruiting fighters into ISIL. Morocco is one of the least authoritarian Arab states; its Arab Spring was rather uneventful. Nonetheless, al Qaeda and ISIL have drawn from the Moroccan population. While this is welcome news, don’t expect ISIL to want for new troops. There is a huge demographic bulge in the young Arab population.