Brian M Downing and the world at war. Timely, thoughtful, and nonpartisan analysis of military matters. @BrianMDowning1.
Brian M Downing No sooner had Assad’s plane left Syrian airspace when talk of regime change in Iran intensified. The notion has been around for decades. It’s embedded in political parties, think tanks, media, and lobbies. Advocates find steady work. They read each other’s reports and attend each other’s conferences. Read More …
Brian M Downing In October of last year, Hamas attacked Israel. Iran planned the surprising and murderous sortie and soon enough its Hisbollah and Houthi allies entered the fray. The aim was to avenge Israeli assassinations and acts of sabotage but more importantly to ensnarl its enemy in harsh urban Read More …
Brian M Downing Assad’s rule is over. Russia couldn’t come to his aid, Iran wouldn’t act on its own, and Hisbollah had been whittled down and decapitated. His troops looked around, saw no help, and called it quits. His family’s reign lasted 53 years. Once foreign aid vanished, it fell Read More …
Brian M Downing An excerpt from a 2014 article http://www.downingreports.com/cohesion-and-disintegration-in-iraqs-armies/ The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria has demonstrated remarkable fighting ability in both Syria and Iraq. Despite its small size – no more than 18,000 – it put the better equipped and much larger Iraqi military into flight in Read More …
Brian M Downing A week ago, Putin’s fortunes were promising. Events in Syria have complicated things. Turkey’s proxy offensive has turned stalemate into rout and Russia faces manpower troubles in its far-flung system. Ten years ago, Assad’s hold seemed to be slipping away. Rebel armies, backed by Gulf princes, Turkey, Read More …
Brian M Downing Ukrainian intelligence has been warning that N Korean troops are training in the Russian Far East for deployment in Ukraine. American intelligence now believes that some 10,000 N Korean soldiers, in Russian uniforms, are heading into the war. Moscow will likely be giving Pyongyang missile and nuclear Read More …
Brian M Downing The policy of Russia is changeless. Its methods, its tactics, its maneuvers may change, but the polar star of its policy, world domination, is a fixed star. – Karl Marx The war on Ukraine didn’t stem from NATO expansion. It was the result of Putin’s fixation on Read More …
Brian M Downing The Ukraine war has taken a new turn. Russia blunted Ukraine’s summer offensive and made slight advances in the center. It has now shifted to the north and begun driving on Kharkiv. Advances have been significant. Russia came close to taking the city at the opening of Read More …
Brian M Downing Russia and China, along with allies Iran and N Korea, are acting in concert to replace the US-led world order. Russia began the war with efforts in Georgia and Crimea before trying to seize all of Ukraine. Iran and regional proxies Hamas, Hisbollah, and the Houthis are Read More …
Brian M Downing The Houthis began as a movement opposed to rising Saudi-Wahhabi influence in Yemen. They are Shia but their identity and cause are tied more to regional differences than to sectarian doctrines. The north has been fighting the Sunni south for a decade. After many offensives and counteroffensives, Read More …