Brian M Downing and the world at war. Timely, thoughtful, and nonpartisan analysis of military matters. @BrianMDowning1.
The Iranian nuclear agreement, American elections, and Israeli generals Brian M Downing Last year’s nuclear deal with Iran occasionally appears in the rintresidential campaign. The GOP candidate decries it as one of many mistakes made by his Democratic opponent, who was Secretary of State in the lead-up to the agreement. Read More …
Israeli generals, the Palestinian question, and a growing divide Brian M Downing The matter of a Palestinian state has for the most part fallen by the wayside. Recently, however, Vladimir Putin has broached the idea of holding talks in Russia between Israel and the Palestinians. The talks will not be Read More …
Uzbekistan takes the world stage Brian M Downing The world will not mourn the passing of Uzbekistan’s despotic ruler Islam Karimov. Foreign powers, however, will watch anxiously as a successor takes power in Tashkent, or tries to. Authoritarian rule often entails difficult a succession process, as with Stalin and Brezhnev. Read More …
The Turks move into Syria Brian M Downing After years of avoiding direct engagement in the Syrian civil war, Turkey has sent armor and fighter aircraft across the border. Their mission is to drive ISIL from a limited area but also, and more importantly, to drive out Kurdish militias. The Read More …
Iranian militarism and the coming elections Brian M Downing It was once hoped that the Iran nuclear deal would lead to less hostility between the US and Iran and to an easing of the mullahs’ and generals’ authoritarian rule. Months prior to the signing of the deal, however, Iranian leaders Read More …
Cold War Two flash points from Syria to Afghanistan Brian M Downing Both the US and Russia have deepened their involvement in the chaotic Islamic world. The US, after withdrawing its troops from Iraq in late 2011, has gradually reinserted some 5000 troops, including artillery units. Advisers serve with Kurdish Read More …
Russia moves even closer to Iran Brian M Downing Upheaval in the Middle East has caused great concern in many capitals. Some states see opportunity. Saudi Arabia, for example, has brought Egypt and its formidable army into its sphere, and hopes to do the same with Sunni regions of Syria, Read More …
The battle of Lashkar Gah and the future of Afghanistan Brian M Downing Major campaigns are unfolding in Syria and Iraq. Afghanistan has fallen out of the public eye, as it often does, but a major battle is developing which will attract world attention once more. Throughout the warm winter, Read More …
Escalation and attrition in the battle for Aleppo Brian M Downing A major battle for Aleppo has been coming for many months, delayed by a short-lived ceasefire and preliminary negotiations. There will not be a lasting ceasefire or meaningful talks until the fate of Syria’s once largest city, now in ruins, Read More …
Russia sees opportunity in Turkey’s instability Brian M Downing Russia and Turkey have been enemies since the early tsars pushed south from Muscovy and came up against the Ottomans. Numerous conflicts followed, including the Crimean War of the 1850s and World War One which saw the collapse of dynasties in Read More …