Brian M Downing and the world at war. Timely, thoughtful, and nonpartisan analysis of military matters. @BrianMDowning1.
Brian M Downing Israel is more secure now than at any time since its founding. Regional enemies have either signed peace agreements (Egypt, Jordan), all but disintegrated from internal divisions (Syria, Libya, Iraq), or aligned with it against Iran (Saudi Arabia). Furthermore, Jerusalem has skillfully built ties with Moscow. Without Read More …
Brian M Downing Relations between Israel and Russia have shifted, even reversed, more than once since the former’s inception in 1948. This isn’t surprising given the region’s volatility and Moscow’s power vicissitudes. The Soviet Union, in keeping with its policy of weakening Western powers, supported Jewish settlers in the 1948 Read More …
Brian M Downing Abu Bakr al Baghdadi hoped to conquer and lead a new Islamist empire. His armies once alarmed capitals in and out of the region. However, western-backed forces ground them down and late last week American special forces killed him. What does his death mean for the future Read More …
Brian M Downing American security interests in the Middle East are declining, yet US troop levels there are rising. By mid-century the region will not be as important to world energy supplies or rivalries with Russia and China. Israel faces no coherent enemies. The Arab world will be plagued by Read More …
Brian M Downing In recent years American policies in the Middle East have met with mixed success. Key allies are reasonably secure and arms sales are on the rise. However, intermittent efforts to liberalize the region have brought more chaos than democracy, in large part because most Arab rulers oppose Read More …
Brian M Downing The US is pulling out of Syria. Damascus, backed by Moscow, welcomed the vacuum and moved troops into Kurdish areas to counter the Turkish incursion. The view here has long been that the US presence in eastern Syria was poorly thought out and bound to end badly. Read More …
Brian M Downing President Erdogan sent troops across the border into the Kurdish region of northeast Syria. He plans to settle a strip of land with Syrian Arab refugees. This, in addition to land in the northwest, would constitute another Turkish statelet in Syrian territory, if he gets away with Read More …
Brian M Downing Turkish President Erdogan has attacked the Kurds in Syria. The US position is confused. President Trump, noting his opposition to US efforts in the region, pulled US troops from the Syria-Turkey border. Turkish troops attacked shortly later – accompanied by the Free Syrian Army which was once Read More …
Brian M Downing President Trump unexpectedly announced a pullback of US troops from the Turkish border in the Kurdish region of Syria. The US in recent years patched together an effective fighting force comprising Kurdish and Arab militias which defeated ISIL. The US will, for now, remain with Kurdish-Arab forces Read More …
Brian M Downing A second Arab Awakening is underway. Mass protests have continued in Algeria and the Sudan. The protesters are numerous and determined – even in the face of harsh repression that’s killed hundreds. The Hong Kong opposition to Beijing’s hovering fist is another case in point outside the Read More …