Brian M Downing and the world at war. Timely, thoughtful, and nonpartisan analysis of military matters. @BrianMDowning1.
Brian M Downing The remarkable rising against Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has roused interest throughout the world. Interest is especially keen in Iran, where official statements and propaganda have been aimed at the so-called Arab Street for many years now. Egyptians did not need a foreign agit-prop campaign to know Read More …
A review of Thomas Hegghammer, Jihad in Saudi Arabia: Violence and Pan-Islamism since 1979. (Cambridge University Press, 2010) Brian M Downing Thomas Hegghammer, a research fellow at the Norwegian Defence Research Establishment, looks at al Qaeda with an eye trained in international affairs, statistical analysis, and sociology. His book is Read More …
Brian M Downing In the last year, the US has experienced a number of terrorist attacks, successful or not, and prevented the occurrence of others. The most recent, a failed car bombing in New York City, has led to concern the country is facing the prospect of a wave of Read More …
Brian M Downing A top al-Qaeda commander was reportedly killed on Wednesday by government forces in Yemen’s southern Shabwa province, coinciding with a top United States official suggesting that the US should launch air strikes there and Iran ramping up tensions with Saudi Arabia. Yemen’s Saba news agency reported that Read More …
Brian M Downing The September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States led to various responses in the American public, shock and outrage the most immediate. Subsequent polling data showed another response. Trust in government rose sharply and immediately – a curious phenomenon, for 9/11 could be readily seen as Read More …
Brian M Downing The US and Iran could be allies again. Angry verbal exchanges notwithstanding, geopolitical dynamics present both countries with common interests and enemies, as they did many years ago when Washington and Tehran cooperated closely in the region. Elites and ideologies pose obstacles to renewed cooperation, but if Read More …
Brian M Downing The “surge” of General David Petraeus, the commander of United States forces in Iraq, is widely credited with bringing down violence in Iraq to a level that allows for political development and the withdrawal of some US troops. In an interview published on Tuesday, following a series Read More …
Brian M Downing Senator Barack Obama has repeatedly assured the public that, if elected to the presidency, he will withdraw US troops from Iraq, and in a manner more cautious than the way in which the US went in. He is unclear as to how many troops he would withdraw, Read More …
Brian M. Downing Few men realize that their life, the very essence of their character, their capabilities and their audacities, are only the expression of their belief in the safety of their surroundings. The courage, the composure, the confidence; the emotions and principles; every great and every insignificant thought belongs Read More …
Brian M Downing It’s been clear for several years now that the neoconservatives want to destroy Iran’s nuclear facilities and probably much of its military and infrastructure as well. The recent National Intelligence Estimate that concluded Iran abandoned its nuclear weapons program several years ago seemed to have thwarted the Read More …