Brian M Downing and the world at war. Timely, thoughtful, and nonpartisan analysis of military matters. @BrianMDowning1.
Brian M Downing Tensions between Iran on the one hand and the US and Israel have eased substantially since war loomed just a few weeks ago. Israeli politicians, generals, and security experts have openly expressed opposition to attacking Iran. More recently, the hawkish coalition in power has brought in the Read More …
Brian M Downing Only in a country whose public is largely removed from military service, hesitant to criticize its generals, and susceptible to media lionization, could Gen David Petraeus receive the accolades he’s been given. Gen Petraeus has been lauded as an extraordinary soldier-scholar who developed counterinsurgency doctrines and saw Read More …
Brian M Downing The national borders from the eastern Mediterranean to the Iranian border were made after the breakup of the Ottoman Empire in 1918. Britain and France, with little consideration for sectarian or ethnic realities, drew lines across the area and established the new countries of Iraq and Syria. Read More …
Brian M Downing The escalation of tensions in the Persian Gulf and attendant positioning of military assets in the region gives the impression that war is all but inevitable. Machinery is in gear and turning faster and faster by the day, as it was in the lead-ups to the Gulf Read More …
Brian M Downing For over two weeks now, Syrian troops have surrounded Homs, a city of about a million people not far from the northern border with Lebanon. President Bashir Assad’s troops are firing indiscriminately into the hapless town, entering parts of it, and preparing a full assault to crush Read More …
Trita Parsi’s first book, Treacherous Alliance (2008), displayed a masterful understanding of the open and hidden dealings between Iran, the US, and Israel over the last thirty-five years. This impressive follow-up study of events since President Barack Obama came to office in 2009 is welcome and exceptionally well-timed. The new administration Read More …
Brian M Downing The United States has shifted its attention away from Iraq, Afghanistan and other parts of the world and firmly fixed it on Iran. Along with this has come a buildup of naval, air and ground forces to pressure and perhaps even attack Iran over fears its nuclear Read More …
Brian M Downing Discussion of a possible war between Iran and the coalition aligning against it centers on destroying Iranian nuclear sites and ensuring that oil tankers freely transit the Strait of Hormuz. Countries embarking on war scrutinize as many scenarios and possibilities as they can, but wars invariably present Read More …
Brian M Downing Sectarian conflict in Iraq is again a concern as the Shi’ite government seeks the arrest of a Sunni vice president whom they tie to an assassination team. Implicit in the accusation is the charge that Sunni politicians were complicit in a number of bombings over the past Read More …
Brian M Downing The United States and other powers are seeking to change the government of Iran from the present mullah-centered authoritarianism to a representative government, or at least to a government more acceptable to regional powers. This objective is being pursued amid a program of sanctions and violent attacks, Read More …