Brian M Downing and the world at war. Timely, thoughtful, and nonpartisan analysis of military matters. @BrianMDowning1.
Brian M Downing The US has twice fired missiles into Syria in retaliation for using chemical weapons. A year ago, a unilateral US barrage of 59 ship-launched cruise missiles struck a military airbase. Last Friday, the US, Britain, and France fired twice that number, from both ships and aircraft, into Read More …
Brian M Downing A year ago, after Syria used chemical weapons on its civilians, President Trump retaliated within 72 hours with a cruise missile strike on a Syrian airfield. Unfortunately, it had no deterrent effect on Assad. Attacks on civilians have continued, most recently in Douma, near Damascus. It’s been Read More …
Brian M Downing The position here is that Israeli PM Netanyahu should retaliate against Syria for its use of chemical weapons. (“Why is Netanyahu looking on?” March 14 2018.) In addition to upholding norms, it would weaken an enemy that’s reconstituting itself, at least partially, from the fragmentation brought on by Read More …
Brian M Downing Warrior-king Abdul Aziz ibn Saud gathered tribal forces on the Arabian Peninsula after World War One and established a personal Kingdom in 1932. Since his death in 1953, Saudi Arabia has been ruled by his sons – actually by a clique within his numerous offspring. In recent Read More …
Brian M Downing To most people in the West, Vladimir Putin is a brutal dictator. He’s concentrated power in his person and amassed a huge fortune from expropriated national wealth. He’s invaded and annexed the Crimea and is attempting the same in the eastern Ukraine. He’s systematically bombed civilian targets Read More …
Brian M Downing Last spring, as the Trump administration took its first steps on the world stage, many were relieved to see relatively cautious figures in top foreign policy slots. This was especially so after Sec of State Rex Tillerson offered cautious words regarding North Korea, Qatar, and Iran that Read More …
Brian M Downing Mohammed bin Salman, heir apparent and de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia, is in Washington this week. Discussions will bear on the geopolitics of the Middle East and the political economy of the United States. The prince brought his checkbook. High on the agenda is dealing with Read More …
Brian M Downing The Syrian war drags on, and so do the atrocities. Rebel fighters are not armies of right and virtue by any means but that cannot be used to look past the government side’s deliberate and systematic attacks on civilians. Syrian and Russian aircraft have incorporated heavy bombing Read More …
Brian M Downing The Syrian civil war is in its eighth year. The government presently has the upper hand. It’s taken back a good deal of territory and all major cities save one, Idlib. That city is now under attack by Russian and Syrian aircraft in preparation for a ground Read More …
Brian M Downing Russian leader Vladimir Putin recently deployed more fighter aircraft to the Latakia airbase in western Syria – two SU-57s. The move comes close on the heels of two setbacks – Israel’s punishing strike on Syria’s Russian-made and much ballyhooed air defense system, and the US-SDF blunting of Read More …