Brian M Downing and the world at war. Timely, thoughtful, and nonpartisan analysis of military matters. @BrianMDowning1.
Brian M Downing The war in Afghanistan continues. Over the years it’s changed from an effort to destroy al Qaeda, into a US-led counterinsurgency against a revitalized Taliban. Over the last few years it’s become a war of attrition between the Afghan army (ANA) and the Taliban. Meanwhile, al Qaeda is Read More …
Brian M Downing The war in Afghanistan has dragged on for fifteen years now. The conflict has been complicated by the rise of ISIL in the region. Its Afghan franchise, ISIL-Khorasan Province, has established itself in eastern Afghanistan, where it has coalesced with and recruited from other jihadi groups, including Read More …
President Trump faces the war in Afghanistan Brian M Downing Throughout the presidential campaign Donald Trump proclaimed that he would see that America won again. Early in his presidency he will have to deal with the resurgent Taliban which as winter ends, will be beginning a new offensive. His national security Read More …
Pragmatism and ideology in President Trump’s foreign policy Brian M Downing Americans are wondering just what the Trump presidency will bring. So are people around the world – the poor of Central America, leaders of ISIL and al Qaeda, European publics and leaders, and the elites of China and Russia. Read More …
Obama’s foreign policy and the Nixon Doctrine Brian M Downing Politicians and the public at large are voicing frustration at the slow pace of the ISIL War. Some claim the administration doesn’t have a strategy. Many are eager to see more US troops sent back into the Middle East. Owing Read More …
The Islamic world continues to break apart – Pakistan Brian M Downing Rand-McNally must be a busy place. Europe has seen the Soviet Union, Yugoslavia, and Czechoslovakia break apart; the Ukraine is being broken apart. The Islamic world has been even more tumultuous. The Sudan broke in two; Iraq is Read More …
Another fighting season in Afghanistan – and perhaps a decisive one Brian M Downing The Afghan war is seasonal. Fighting begins in the spring and relents in the early winter, though warmer weather this year protracted the fighting. Last year was the Taliban’s best showing in years. It demonstrated surprising Read More …
During World War Two, soldiers of the American 1st Infantry Division observed that the army consisted of them and millions of rear-echelon troops. Big Red One indeed led the way into North Africa and Normandy, but the comment was more lament or boast than fact. Special forces troops of Afghanistan Read More …
The Taliban haven’t heard that the fighting season ended in November. Less an insurgent force and more a conventional army fighting above ground, they continue to press their offensive in the southwestern province of Helmand and have taken key districts. Helmand may fall, imperiling the government’s position in adjacent Kandahar Read More …
ISIL expanded suddenly over the last year and a half, from half-forgotten bombing outfit in western Iraq to regional danger. It has won the allegiance of unaffiliated Islamist groups as well as those formerly bound to al Qaeda. Attention is on North Africa and the Middle East, but conditions conducive to Read More …