Brian M Downing and the world at war. Timely, thoughtful, and nonpartisan analysis of military matters. @BrianMDowning1.
Ties between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan are longstanding but for the most part have not stood out in the turbulent affairs of the region. However, increased tensions with Iran, the Arab Spring, and growing disenchantment with the US are making the relationship more expansive, more prominent, and more dangerous. Read More …
Brian M Downing Iran is facing ominous rhetoric and deadly explosions as the US, Israel, and Saudi Arabia step up efforts to open Iran’s nuclear facilities to inspection. Iran is gauging its support from abroad. Syria, a longstanding ally, is in turmoil and Hizbullah in Lebanon would be of only Read More …
Brian M Downing World attention is rightly fixed on the fighting in Libya, but events in Saudi Arabia slated for Friday, March 11th might well take precedent. Young Saudis are mobilizing for demonstrations calling for political reforms but the regime has warned against any such gatherings. A confrontation with immense Read More …
Brian M Downing The remarkable rising against Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has roused interest throughout the world. Interest is especially keen in Iran, where official statements and propaganda have been aimed at the so-called Arab Street for many years now. Egyptians did not need a foreign agit-prop campaign to know Read More …
A review of Thomas Hegghammer, Jihad in Saudi Arabia: Violence and Pan-Islamism since 1979. (Cambridge University Press, 2010) Brian M Downing Thomas Hegghammer, a research fellow at the Norwegian Defence Research Establishment, looks at al Qaeda with an eye trained in international affairs, statistical analysis, and sociology. His book is Read More …
Brian M Downing United States Secretary of Defense Gates recently complained there was no plan to halt Iran’s nuclear research, which is thought to be aimed at building atomic weapons. It is more accurate to say that plans to halt the program – both diplomatic and military – are impractical Read More …
Brian M Downing A top al-Qaeda commander was reportedly killed on Wednesday by government forces in Yemen’s southern Shabwa province, coinciding with a top United States official suggesting that the US should launch air strikes there and Iran ramping up tensions with Saudi Arabia. Yemen’s Saba news agency reported that Read More …
Brian M Downing We may never know the true vote count in the recent elections and it’s almost irrelevant now. Debate has ended, sides have been drawn, and a test of power, not votes, is underway. Over the last two days, in the face of serious yet restrained repression, street Read More …
Brian M Downing A review of Marc Sageman, Leaderless Jihad: Terror Networks in the Twenty-First Century. University of Pennsylvania Press, 2008. In the aftermath of the September 11th attacks, we were inundated by hysterical books which purported to give thoughtful analysis of al Qaeda but which instead only added to Read More …
Brian M Downing The “surge” of General David Petraeus, the commander of United States forces in Iraq, is widely credited with bringing down violence in Iraq to a level that allows for political development and the withdrawal of some US troops. In an interview published on Tuesday, following a series Read More …