Brian M Downing and the world at war. Timely, thoughtful, and nonpartisan analysis of military matters. @BrianMDowning1.
Brian M Downing Twenty years ago, only specialists had heard of al Qaeda. Since then, it has grown in numbers, inspired rivals, aligned with separatists, and spread into Nigeria, the Maghreb, Sinai, Syria, Iraq, Yemen, East Africa, South Asia, Central Asia, and Southeast Asia. Both AQ and ISIL have havens Read More …
Brian M Downing The images are fresh in our minds: angry marchers in Charlottesville, Virginia, and heavily-armed men in tactical gear standing outside and sometimes in state capitals. This book, though published between those two events, scrutinizes the white-power movement which comprises neo-Nazis, KKK members, private militias, and a miscellany Read More …
Brian M Downing Historical analogies The shift from youthful idealism to terror is clear in several countries. Russian youth went to the countryside to learn from simple people and bring reform. It didn’t work well at all and as tsarist repression continued, they became nihilistic and violent. Nechaev and Zasulich Read More …
Brian M Downing President Trump issued a warning to Pakistan last January and this week he cut $300 million in military aid to our putative ally. Other forms of aid are continuing, however. The reason for the cuts is Islamabad’s support for the Taliban, which has been gaining ground in Read More …
Brian M Downing The Trump administration is concerned about China’s ascendance in world affairs, often at US expense. Its economy will surpass the US’s in a decade or so. Military spending has increased, especially in naval and air might. China’s territorial claims and fortified artificial islands are well known. Beijing’s 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 on national security, it reached intense levels with the Iran-Iraq War of the 80s which took hundreds of thousands of lives. Afterward, animosities lessened but Read More …
Brian M Downing In early October, four GIs were killed in action while serving in Niger, a landlocked desert country in West Africa. Most Americans were surprised. They were unaware of a US presence in that country and would be hard pressed to find it on a map. The same Read More …
Brian M Downing The term “regime change” once had great attraction. A troubled land would be put on the right path, with American help, and democracy and prosperity would follow. But the ousters of Saddam Hussein and Muammar Qaddafi brought anarchy and havens for Islamist militants, and the idea fell into Read More …
Brian M Downing This week a bomb exploded on a train in St Petersburg, killing eleven people and wounding many more. Initial reports point to a suicide bomber. It’s not clear what his motives were or if he was part of a network. Terrorism has struck Russia often in the Read More …