Brian M Downing and the world at war. Timely, thoughtful, and nonpartisan analysis of military matters. @BrianMDowning1.
Brian M Downing Saudi Arabia and Iran have been engaged in conflict since the Khomeini Revolution of 1979 and the Iran-Iraq War that began the following year. Washington may think it can limit involvement to supplying arms and intelligence with an occasional skirmish and airstrike. But the US risks deeper involvement and Read More …
Brian M Downing A Sunni-Shia conflict has been underway at least since Khomeini took power in Iran in early 1979. Fearing Shia uprisings and Sunni ones as well, Saudi Arabia and its allies formed a league to oppose Iran. They supported Iraq against Iran in the 80s and have aligned Read More …
Brian M Downing The Syrian civil war appears to be moving into a final chapter, though the region’s conflicts are prone to sudden addendums. Government forces, with the aid of Russian airpower and Iranian-trained militias, are moving on Idlib in the north and Deraa in the south. The latter campaign Read More …
Brian M Downing Relations between the US and Russia have declined badly since Putin’s invasion of the Crimea and eastern Ukraine. The Trump administration is determined to bring rapprochement. The contours of an arrangement seem to be reducing sanctions on Russia in exchange for its cooperation against Iran – a Read More …
Brian M Downing Yemen is in the middle of its third civil war between north and south. None of the conflicts has been sectarian to most Yemenis, even though the north is Shia and the south Sunni. The disputes have been regional in nature – the result of the north Read More …
Brian M Downing Jordan has been in the background while much of the Middle East has burned and raged. It experienced no upheaval as in Egypt, Libya, and Syria. ISIL’s presence isn’t strong in Jordan, though it has pockets of support. The Jordanian military is playing a role in fighting Read More …
Brian M Downing The collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 portended favorably for world peace, at least to some. Others saw the source of Russian-Soviet actions based not in communist ideology but rather in a national security ideology and string of ambitious rulers, both of which predate Marx and Read More …
Brian M Downing Arms sales are increasingly important in world affairs – to buyers and sellers alike. The US isn’t in lockstep with the Gulf monarchies against Iran because of oil imports. American imports from the Middle East have dwindled over the last two decades or so. The tilt is Read More …
Brian M Downing Since its remarkable offensive of 2014, ISIL has been steadily worn down by Kurdish and Arab forces in Syria and by special forces and militias in Iraq. Both campaigns relied heavily on American support. ISIL retains positions in eastern Syria and western Iraq and was able to Read More …
Brian M Downing Sectarian conflict, chiefly between Saudi Arabia and Iran, has been underway for decades. Based at least as much on religious hatred as national security, it reached intense levels with the Iran-Iraq War of the 80s and took hundreds of thousands of lives. Afterward, animosities lessened but picked up Read More …