Brian M Downing and the world at war. Timely, thoughtful, and nonpartisan analysis of military matters. @BrianMDowning1.
Brian M Downing Mosul and Raqqa will soon fall, leaving ISIL with no major cities, only a few towns in the thinly-populated expanses of eastern Syria and western Iraq. Its bold claim to be an ever-victorious army conquering vast lands across the Middle East for the new caliphate is becoming Read More …
Brian M Downing The Muslim Brotherhood began in 1920s Egypt and over the years has spread throughout the Islamic world. In places it operates as an underground network, elsewhere as an open part of government. Saudi Arabia, Israel, and the United States have formed an Entente which opposes terrorism and Read More …
Brian M Downing Concern that North Korea is endangering regional security and prosperity is bringing unexpected cooperation between the US and China. An outcome isn’t at hand, nor is an era of Sino-American partnership in world affairs. However, the two powers, though at odds on matters of trade and territoriality, share Read More …
Brian M Downing The Trump administration is looking for a steep increase in military spending. It also wants significant cuts in social spending and the State Department budget to help pay for it. More guns, less butter. Less diplomacy too. The budget will be contested in Congress; the cuts and boosts might well be Read More …
Brian M Downing Yesterday, in a decidedly informal press conference with Prime Minister Netanyahu, President Trump dropped American support for a two-state solution in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. He went on to say in passing that he would accept whatever solution the Israel government and Palestinian leadership arrived at. Meanwhile, expansion Read More …
Brian M Downing The new administration has taken several bold steps regarding the Middle East. The executive order on immigration from seven Muslim countries caused an uproar, though that’s far less important than its imprecision and questionable constitutionality. The plan to move the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem Read More …
Brian M Downing The Trump administration talks of a new era of cooperation with Russia. The historical rivals, it believes, can work together in fighting ISIL and developing oil and gas fields, especially in the forbidding trans-Ural and Arctic regions. The partnership may be facilitated by the affinities between two Read More …
Brian M Downing Armies prize discipline and respect for law and procedure. This attracts them to conservatism, at least in most of its manifestations. The American officers corps, according to Military Times polls, is staunchly conservative. Israeli generals, though, have historically supported parties across the political spectrum. Yigal Allon helped found 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 …
The House of Saud tries to modernize (at last) Brian M Downing Saudi Arabia has announced bold economic moves. Weeks ago Riyadh floated the idea of selling shares in its oil industry to shore up cash reserves, and more recently it announced an ambitious program of building an industrial base. This, the Read More …