Brian M Downing and the world at war. Timely, thoughtful, and nonpartisan analysis of military matters. @BrianMDowning1.
Brian M Downing Sustained fighting short of all-out war In this scenario the Iraqi state doesn’t collapse, but neither does it expel pro-Iran forces and US military personnel. The US and Saudi Arabia are unable to marginalize Iranian-backed militias and political parties. Iran continues to spar with US and Saudi-backed Read More …
Brian M Downing State collapse Many longstanding democracies, including the US, Britain, France, and Israel face worrisome polarization and gridlock. A young, frail democracy is in far worse shape. The government has been a state of disarray for several months. Recent events are making coalition-building all the more difficult. Angry Read More …
Brian M Downing Unrest is again sweeping Iranian cities. This time it was set off by official deceptions about the Ukrainian airliner disaster. Iran has a long history of large-scale protests stretching back a century. Last November the government raised gasoline prices which led to jarring protests in many cities. Read More …
Brian M Downing US exit? A few weeks ago angry protesters in Iraq called an end to Iranian interference. After Soleimani’s assassination, calls for ousting the US erupted. The sentiment is shared by many MPs and a legally-binding order is in the works. President Trump’s threat of sanctions hardly cooled Read More …
Brian M Downing Tensions, sometimes very ominous ones, come and go in the Middle East. Since the killing of General Soleimani and Iran’s subsequent missile strike in Iraq, tensions have eased, at least for now. Iran’s response was fiery missile launches into dark skies and claims of high American casualties. Read More …
Brian M Downing Over the last few months Iraq, like many countries in and out of the Middle East, has been hit hard by violent protests. The Baghdad government is paralyzed. Most of the violence was aimed at Iranian targets at the direction of Shia leader Moqtada al Sadr – Read More …
Brian M Downing Iran will strike back hard after Suleimani’s assassination. To Iranians, the event is roughly comparable to the 9/11 attacks on the US. So popular was the IRGC general that If the mullahs and generals do not demonstrate resoluteness in coming days or weeks, they will face popular Read More …
Messiah (2020) review by Brian M Downing A ten-part Netflix series with several directors 8/10 This is an ambitious and well executed look at faith and despair in the Middle East and US. A Middle Eastern man appears before a fearful crowd in Damascus just as ISIL troops are about Read More …
Brian M Downing An American drone strike has killed Qassem Soleimani, the renowned head of the IRGC’s foreign operations. Over the last decade he patched together dozens of Syrian, Iraqi, and international-Shia militias. They fought US troops in the years after the 2003 invasion, bolstered faltering Syrian forces, fought alongside, Read More …
Brian M Downing The US embassy in Baghdad was attacked and besieged by crowds angered by recent US airstrikes on Iran-backed militias. Those strikes came just after one such militia rocketed a base containing US personnel, killing an American contractor. The siege appears to be lifting but the Saudi-Iranian conflict, Read More …