Brian M Downing and the world at war. Timely, thoughtful, and nonpartisan analysis of military matters. @BrianMDowning1.
Brian M Downing Vladimir Putin has had a bad week. His vaunted air defense system in Syria brought down an Israeli F-16, but the IDF responded with retaliatory strikes that crippled the system, destroying perhaps one-third of it. Beyond the military significance of this, Russian military hardware isn’t looking attractive Read More …
Brian M Downing Last Saturday, Israel struck targets in Syria after its defenses claimed an Iranian drone had crossed into Israeli airspace. Not much new here. Israeli jets have almost routinely attacked pro-Assad targets over the last few years. This sortie differed in that an Israeli F-16 was brought down, Read More …
A review of Ahmed S Hashim, Insurgency and Counter-Insurgency in Iraq by Brian M Downing Analyzing an ongoing war is dicey. Most historians gladly and often wisely leave it to pundits and think-tank analysts until the years have made it less dangerous to their careers. Amid the grinding war in Iraq, Read More …
Brian M Downing China’s most important strategic partner, by far, is Russia. They share borders, opposition to democracy at home, and the desire to weaken American hegemony. Their combined land mass and military power have no parallel in history and pose a challenge to the role order. Russia and China Read More …
Brian M Downing States rise to global power in partnership with other countries. Britain, for example, rose to preeminence with allies that weakened enemies on the continent, and with local notables on the subcontinent. American preeminence came after the Second World War with a slew of alliances stretching from Western Read More …
Brian M Downing China’s economic growth and increasing global reach have reaped geopolitical advantages. The same of course was true when Britain, France, and the United States planted their flags and built commerce across the globe in previous centuries. In the case of China the process has come from careful Read More …
Brian M Downing In all recorded history, China has had the strongest economy in the world, with the exception of the previous two centuries. The West’s preeminence seems timeless and preordained in much of the world, but in China it’s an historical fluke, one that will be made plain to Read More …
Brian M Downing America assumed the role of world leader after 1945, when European countries were in ruins and no longer able to maintain their empires. The US has held onto that position despite failed wars in Asia and the 2008 economic collapse. American elites, think tanks, and much of Read More …
Brian M Downing If you’re looking for insight on Terry Jones and his mission of burning the Koran and getting the Islamic world to despise us even more than it already does, I recommend HL Mencken. The caustic essayist of the early twentieth century was a great writer and a Read More …
Brian M Downing Their moral passion spent most of its force in self-accusing, self-denial and self-scourging. They began by howling their sins from the mourners’ bench; they came to their end, many of them, in the supreme immolation of battle. – HL Mencken While thinking (more) about Terry Jones’s efforts Read More …