Brian M Downing and the world at war. Timely, thoughtful, and nonpartisan analysis of military matters. @BrianMDowning1.
Brian M Downing The US’s dominant position in the world is no longer the certainty it was only a few years ago. A major withdrawal from world affairs is thought inevitable. Fiscal crisis, it is often argued, will force cuts in defense spending and require the removal of troops from Read More …
Brian M Downing President Obama recently made a gaff by referring to a four-star flag officer as “General” McRaven. McRaven, in fact, is an admiral. For the president’s legions of foes, this underscores the president’s cluelessness regarding military matters. I presume they think that Bush the Younger and Cheney the Read More …
Brian M Downing Only in a country whose public is largely removed from military service, hesitant to criticize its generals, and susceptible to media lionization, could Gen David Petraeus receive the accolades he’s been given. Gen Petraeus has been lauded as an extraordinary soldier-scholar who developed counterinsurgency doctrines and saw Read More …
Brian M Downing President Barack Obama has ordered the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan. Though how many and how fast remains unknown, it seems that only a relatively small force will remain after 2014 as part of the recently signed strategic partnership between the US and Afghanistan. Withdrawal will be Read More …
Trita Parsi’s first book, Treacherous Alliance (2008), displayed a masterful understanding of the open and hidden dealings between Iran, the US, and Israel over the last thirty-five years. This impressive follow-up study of events since President Barack Obama came to office in 2009 is welcome and exceptionally well-timed. The new administration Read More …
Brian M Downing Conservative attacks on President Obama and his agenda are fierce and seemingly everywhere, especially on talk radio. The president’s healthcare program is alleged to contain provisions for government bureaus to decide who lives and who dies. His fiscal policies are said to have created or at least Read More …
Brian M Downing Here was a new generation . . . grown up to find all Gods dead, all wars fought, all faiths in man shaken. – F Scott Fitzgerald Baghdad falls to US forces. – 2003 headline When Saigon fell and the last Huey was pushed overboard into the Read More …
Brian M Downing Films about wars have been part of the cinema since DW Griffith put scenes of the Civil War in Birth of a Nation (1915). There were thousands of veterans of that conflict still alive then and I’ll bet many of them didn’t like what they saw. Recently, Read More …
Brian M Downing Three demographic groups contend in the political system and on the cultural landscape. The generation that came of age during World War Two, now in its late years, controlled the presidency and much of public life, from John F. Kennedy’s election in 1960 until George Bush, Sr’s Read More …
by Brian M Downing Events of the thirties are much discussed today as we look for insight on present-day problems. Both parties today grab “facts” out of the past like breathless contestants on a ruthless game show, eager to go on for the grand prize. As someone from that period Read More …