Brian M Downing and the world at war. Timely, thoughtful, and nonpartisan analysis of military matters. @BrianMDowning1.
Brian M Downing Many in the movement see themselves as true patriots – descendants of homesteaders and workers and soldiers. Their love of America is deep and gut-level. They see others speak the appropriate words and stand for the Anthem but judge their affection as shallow and less forceful. They’re Read More …
Brian M Downing Americans see themselves as independent, self-reliant, and opposed to intrusive forces. That was essential to the merchants, craftsmen, planters, and farmers who opposed British taxation and Church of England expansion. “Don’t tread on me” was embroidered into flags and myths. The principle surfaced during the Whiskey Rebellion, the Read More …
Brian M Downing A new populism began with H Ross Perot’s presidential campaigns and the Tea Party movement. Both were short-lived but populism came back strong with the Trump victory in 2016. Defeat four years later, the January 6 insurrection, and a slew of indictments of its leader haven’t weakened it. Read More …
Brian M Downing Studying the quarrels of an ancient day [we] can at least seek to understand both parties to the struggle and want to understand them better than they understood themselves; watching them entangled in the net of time and circumstance [we] can take pity on them – these Read More …
Brian M Downing A world war between China and Russia on the one hand and the West on the other has begun. Fighting is on in Ukraine and Israel and tension is building on the Korean Peninsula and along the Sino-Indian border. China will try to retake Taiwan in coming Read More …
Brian M Downing The Ukraine war has taken a new turn. Russia blunted Ukraine’s summer offensive and made slight advances in the center. It has now shifted to the north and begun driving on Kharkiv. Advances have been significant. Russia came close to taking the city at the opening of Read More …
Brian M Downing Russia and China, along with allies Iran and N Korea, are acting in concert to replace the US-led world order. Russia began the war with efforts in Georgia and Crimea before trying to seize all of Ukraine. Iran and regional proxies Hamas, Hisbollah, and the Houthis are Read More …
8/10 Director: Martin Ritt (Hud, Hombre, The Spy Who Came In From The Cold, Norma Rae) Starring Sean Connery, Richard Harris, Samantha Eggar, Frank Finlay The film is set in a Pennsylvania coal-mining town in the 1870s where Irish immigrants work in hazardous conditions, live in stark shanties, and watch Read More …
Brian M Downing A new world war is on. It was intimated with the 2008 Russian invasion of Georgia – a Sudetenland of sorts – and became clear with the Ukraine invasions. The origin lies in the collaboration of China and Russia to avenge perceived wrongs and create a new Read More …
Brian M Downing Hamas’s attack last year was intentionally barbaric. It was intended to elicit a disproportionate response from Netanyahu and his religious-nationalist bloc and shake up the region to the advantage of Iran, Russia, and Chins. Netanyahu is doing his part. Much of Gaza has been leveled and an Read More …