Brian M Downing and the world at war. Timely, thoughtful, and nonpartisan analysis of military matters. @BrianMDowning1.
President Trump takes on the Middle East – Iran Brian M Downing No newly-elected president has caused more anxiety and speculation than Donald Trump. His hastily proposed polices and mercurial temperament worry foreign leaders and fellow Republicans alike. Many US foreign policy experts have publicly declared him unfit for the presidency. Read More …
President Trump takes on the Middle East – the US embassy in Israel Brian M Downing Donald Trump directed a masterful campaign to win his party’s nomination and go on to win the presidency – both against long odds. Now he must make the transition from issuing rallying cries and partisan Read More …
The coming ISIL dispersal – Iraq and Syria Brian M Downing In coming weeks, or months, ISIL’s prestigious holdings, Mosul and Raqqa, will have been retaken. ISIL will have only a handful of smaller towns and expanses of land – most of it wasteland. Several thousand ISIL fighters are in Read More …
Russia looks for opportunities in Iraq Brian M Downing Russia and the United States are engaged in Cold War Two – a global contest for influence, trade, military bases, and power. Russia, in conjunction with China, want to establish hegemony in the Eurasian land mass, including the Middle East. Read More …
Kurdistan after the liberation of Mosul Brian M Downing Iraqi troops will probably retake Mosul in coming weeks or months. The battle will be fierce, the casualties, both civilian and military, will be high. Afterwards, old political conflicts that were put aside after the 2014 ISIL offensive will reemerge and Read More …
The coming battle for Raqqa – and the future of Iraq and Syria Brian M Downing Iraqi and Kurdish troops are on the outskirts of Mosul, ISIL’s prized holding in Iraq. The battle will be long and costly and will entail a slew of political complications involving various foreign powers, especially the Read More …
Apocalypse soon in the battle of Mosul? Brian M Downing The fight for Mosul is underway. Surrounding villages have fallen, ISIL has launched spoiling attacks, Iraqi special forces are nearing the city itself. ISIL fighters have the advantage in combat effectiveness and in fighting from defensive positions in urban areas, Read More …
The potential for Russian escalation in Syria Brian M Downing Vladimir Putin’s intervention in Syria has thus far been cautious. Russian air support allowed Syrian and allied ground forces to regain territory around Damascus and Aleppo. When the Syrian president boasted of reconquering all of Syria, and as the ineffectiveness Read More …
What to expect in the battle for Mosul Brian M Downing The campaign to retake Mosul has been promised for quite some time. Troops have been positioned, supply depots set up, and plans reworked over and over. Many surrounding towns and villages have fallen in referent weeks. Though coordinating the Iraqi army, Read More …
Turkey reaches for greater power Brian M Downing Turkey has long pursued regional interests. It has championed Kurdish autonomy in Iraq, but tries to quash it elsewhere. It has supported a slew of rebel groups in Syria. And it has established itself as an important transporter of Central Asian and Read More …