Brian M Downing and the world at war. Timely, thoughtful, and nonpartisan analysis of military matters. @BrianMDowning1.
Brian M Downing This week brought news that the United States was releasing a number of Taliban figures of mid-to-high standing in the insurgent group’s political and military apparatus. This is a good sign of efforts to bring about meaningful peace talks, which were thought to have been on hold Read More …
Brian M Downing The United States is withdrawing troops from Afghanistan though the recent agreement with President Hamid Karzai indicates that the US will retain a significant presence, civilian and military, for many years to come. It is unclear how many Western troops will remain but the level will certainly Read More …
Brian M Downing President Barack Obama has ordered the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan. Though how many and how fast remains unknown, it seems that only a relatively small force will remain after 2014 as part of the recently signed strategic partnership between the US and Afghanistan. Withdrawal will be Read More …
Brian M Downing The war in Afghanistan has been stalemated for several years now and eyes are turning to a negotiated settlement. In recent weeks, talks between the United States and the Taliban have come and gone, but they will almost assuredly return. As welcome as these bilateral talks are, Read More …
Brian M Downing Over the past 10 years, the Taliban have recovered from their ouster and established a presence in half of Afghanistan’s districts, where they have become a de facto government in many of them. The Afghan government is frail and unwilling to reform. The United States is war-weary Read More …
Reviewed by Brian M Downing Peace talks between the US and the Taliban are in the offing and the relationship between the latter and al-Qaeda will figure highly in them. Strick Van Linschoten and Kuehn argue that the two Islamist groups have never had close ties. This will strike longtime Read More …
Brian M Downing If we were overthrown, there would be major chaos and confusion in the country and everyone including every single oppressed individual would blame you for it. – Mullah Omar to President Clinton, Sept 1999 A government that is losing to an insurgency is not being outfought, it Read More …
Rajiv Chandrasekaran, Little America: The War Within the War for Afghanistan (New York: Alfred A Knopf, 2012. 384 pages. US$28. Reviewed by Brian M Downing In the 1950s and 60s, US engineers and aid workers encamped in a complex known as Little America in southern Afghanistan and built a series Read More …
Brian M Downing Hopes for a negotiated settlement in Afghanistan are beginning once more, but the problematic Byzantine geopolitics are not readily apparent. It is not the bipolar confrontation between Britain and Russia that it was in the 19th century. Nor is it simply the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) Read More …
Brian M Downing In the past few years, bombings and assassinations have taken place inside Iran that have killed scores of people. These attacks are almost certainly directed by Israeli, Saudi and US intelligence services which are pressing Iran to open its nuclear research facilities to international inspection. In recent Read More …