Brian M Downing and the world at war. Timely, thoughtful, and nonpartisan analysis of military matters. @BrianMDowning1.
Brian M Downing The once seemingly overwhelming momentum of the democratic movements in the Middle East has been stopped or at least slowed in many countries. The forces behind staunching the tide of change are often domestic in nature, but Saudi Arabia is playing an important supporting role – sometimes Read More …
A review of Bing West, The Wrong War: Grit, Strategy, and the Way Out of Afghanistan. (New York: Random House, 2011). Bing West, a marine veteran and assistant secretary of defense under President Ronald Reagan, has written extensively on American soldiers in various wars from the Vietnam War, in which he Read More …
Brian M Downing The world is seeing a tragedy unfold as monsoon rains swell the expansive Indus River and flood large parts of Pakistan from Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa province to the Arabian Sea. Whether directed by Pakistanis or outside agencies, relief will not always be a straightforward humanitarian effort – neither Read More …
Brian M Downing It’s been seven years since United States and coalition forces invaded Iraq. The principal rationale for the war – Saddam Hussein’s weapons of mass destruction – was based on poor if not manipulated intelligence, but there were ancillary rationales of building democracy in the Middle East and Read More …
Brian M Downing In the past week, American, British and Afghan troops launched a major campaign around the southern Afghan city of Marjah in Helmand province – part of the counter-insurgency program begun in earnest last year. Shortly thereafter, far to the south in the Pakistani port city of Karachi, Read More …
Brian M Downing President Obama’s outline of the new policy in Afghanistan has been criticized as a weak, consensual decision that merely aggregates various views on the war. The decision was almost bound to be so, as there is no consensus on the war in the administration, congress, or the Read More …
Brian M Downing Something hits me every time I see American troops in Iraq or Afghanistan. Several World War Two veterans and fellow Vietnam veterans I know have the same reaction. It has nothing to do with the politics of the wars. It’s the uniforms of our soldiers today, the Read More …
Brian M Downing There used to be a Peoples Drug Store a few blocks from where I grew up in Maryland. My witty father used to say that the store sounded like it was in downtown Moscow. He said the same thing about State Farm Insurance – surely an offshoot Read More …
Brian M Downing Last week US forces launched an offensive in the southern Afghan province of Helmand. The four thousand troops involved, mostly marines, constitute one of the largest operations of the war and signal the beginning of a new chapter in the conflict. The goals are ambitious. The campaign Read More …
Brian M Downing The United States is entering a new phase in the war in Afghanistan. This approach to fighting the Taliban is based on counter-insurgency thinking: building indigenous police and military forces, providing services to villagers, and winning support from fence-sitters and insurgent sympathizers. It is hoped that in Read More …