Brian M Downing and the world at war. Timely, thoughtful, and nonpartisan analysis of military matters. @BrianMDowning1.
Carter Malkasian, War Comes to Garmser: Thirty Years of Conflict on the Afghan Frontier. (London: C Hurst & Co Publishers; New York: Oxford University Press, 2013). Reviewed by Brian M Downing A government that is losing to an insurgency isn’t being out-fought, it’s being out-governed. – Bernard Fall In 1972, Read More …
Brian M Downing Most accounts of the Second Iraq War (2003-11) attach great importance to counterinsurgency programs in ending the conflict there. The shift from using heavy firepower to winning hearts and minds is said to have created a “Sunni Awakening,” which changed the course of the war and brought Read More …
Brian M Downing After the absence of meaningful discussions with the Taliban over the winter, the latter’s spring offensive has begun, chiefly with a wave on IED attacks but also a sizable ground attack in eastern Afghanistan. The new fighting season comes amid reports of widespread war-weariness in the country Read More …
Brian M Downing China and Pakistan recently signed an agreement granting Beijing the operating rights to the Gwadar port facilities in western Pakistan, along the Arabian Sea and near the Strait of Hormuz. Last year, China rejected Pakistan’s offer to build a naval base in Gwadar – a move that humiliated Read More …
Brian M Downing A rebellion in Mali that might have otherwise excited little interest commanded international attention when word came of its hardline Islamist nature and, more importantly, its ties to al Qaeda in the Maghreb (AQIM). In recent days, French, Malian, and other African troops have launched attacks into Read More …
Brian M Downing The Syrian civil war has raged for over a year now, ever since peaceful protest turned into armed rebellion. In recent months, rebel groups have become more effective and various armed units have emerged. They have little in common beside opposition to the Assad regime, and their Read More …
Brian M. Downing The uprisings of the Arab Spring have been supported in the West and many other countries as well. The tide is seen as welcome, inevitable, and essential to placing the region on a proper political and economic track. That view, however, is not shared in Saudi Arabia. Read More …
Brian M Downing Russia recently announced its intention to obtain naval facilities in various parts of the world, including Vietnam, the Seychelles, and Cuba. Acquiring naval bases has historically been a means of signaling rising power. Theodore Roosevelt knew this when he sent the Great White Fleet on a global Read More …
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 Recent fighting in Damascus and Aleppo has differed markedly from that of only a couple of months ago when the regular army swiftly defeated rebel enclaves in Homs, Idlib, and Deraa. Fighting in Damascus has persisted for several weeks now and while it trails off at times, Read More …