Brian M Downing and the world at war. Timely, thoughtful, and nonpartisan analysis of military matters. @BrianMDowning1.
Palace coup in Saudi Arabia? A respected British paper, The Independent, is reporting that a number of the remaining Sudairi brothers, the elite of the House of Saudi, want oust the present king. He is said to be suffering from dementia and has allowed his son to involve the country Read More …
Israel and Russia on Syria There are intriguing conversations going between Russia and Israel over Syria. Russia may be able to rein in Iran and Hisbollah, which will lessen danger to Israel’s north. In return, Israel may accept the Assad regime’s presence in a truncated state running from the Mediterranean Read More …
Only a few years ago the US was confident it had left behind combat operations in the Middle East. It’s back, albeit reluctantly. The US has bolstered its training mission in Iraq and begun air support missions. To the west, in Syria, the US failed to build a rebel force Read More …
Shia militias gain political clout in Iraq The Iraqi army’s ineptitude has led to the military importance of Shia militias. Now, the militias are important political actors. PM Abadi meets with militia commanders to plan strategy against ISIL. In that the Shia militias are backed by Iran this will cause Read More …
Summit re Syria slated for Friday Russia, the US, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey will meet to discuss the war in Syria. The view here has been that the Russian intervention in recent weeks was designed to impress upon the rebels that they could not win and that a negotiated settlement Read More …
Russia’s deployment of fighter aircraft and troops to Syria has overshadowed similar moves by Iran. The Islamic Republic, a longstanding Syrian ally, has sent about four thousand Shia fighters recruited from Afghanistan’s Hazara people and Iraq’s Arab majority, and reportedly a small contingent of its own ground troops as well. Read More …
The battle for Aleppo shapes up In response to Russian and Iranian actions to help the Syrian army retake the northern region from which it withdrew recently, the US and other countries have upped their support for rebel forces there. Anti-tank weapons are coming in which will make Syrian armor Read More …
Fighting continues in Israel The ongoing attacks and killings became sharper in recent days, but still fall short of what could be called a Third Intifada. Palestinians seem to be targeting Israeli military and security personnel more than in past conflicts. World opinion is focused elsewhere but the Israeli actions Read More …
The consequences of the 2003 Iraq war have been disastrous – for the US, the Middle East, and most of all, Iraq itself. Surprisingly, even GOP presidential candidates now agree the war was a mistake, even though their standard bearer launched it, albeit with support of many from across the Read More …
Saudis punish Russia over Syrian move As noted here recently, Saudi Arabia would use oil prices to punish Russia for his big move into Syria. The Saudis are not boosting supply as I suspected, but they are offering oil to Poland at reduced prices. Note that Poland is a NATO Read More …