Brian M Downing and the world at war. Timely, thoughtful, and nonpartisan analysis of military matters. @BrianMDowning1.
Brian M Downing Prime Minister Netanyahu repeatedly warns of Iranian dangers to his country and the region. He tried more than once to persuade the United States to destroy Iranian nuclear sites and mobilized his considerable resources to press the White House into action. Neither of the previous two presidents obliged. Read More …
Brian M Downing Candidate Trump promised a tougher stance toward Iran. He deplored the P5+1 deal that required Iran to dismantle critical parts of its nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief. President Trump has altered many of his positions but remains hostile toward Iran. The position advanced here recently Read More …
Brian M Downing Few people had heard of the Tuareg before the wars in Libya and Mali. The Kurds were better known but the fighting in Iraq and Syria brought them to prominence. The Uighurs, a Muslim Turkic people, will make themselves better known in coming decades. Chinese policies and Read More …
Brian M Downing In 2008, late in the Bush administration, the Iraqi government ordered the US to withdraw its troops by the end of 2011. The Obama administration was not eager to argue. Nor could it have succeeded had it tried as US troops were fiercely disliked then. Facing a resurgent al Qaeda not Read More …
Brian M Downing Syrian Kurds have played a critical role in the ISIL War. They handed ISIL its first defeat at Kobane, where the seemingly invincible band was driven back from the Turkish border with heavy losses. Today Kurdish troops serve in the composite Syrian Democratic Forces which are about Read More …
Brian M Downing President Trump ordered the Pentagon to present him with a more aggressive strategy for fighting ISIL, and the chiefs are about to offer options. One option calls for deploying more troops to Syria. The units would not be ground combat units, rather they would be primarily support troops to help Read More …
Brian M Downing The long expected battle for Raqqa, the ISIL capital in north-central Syria, is underway. The Syrian Democratic Forces, a coalition of several militias, has begun encircling Raqqa. Soon the SDF will take surrounding villages, then prepare to assault the city itself. The battle will be long and Read More …
Brian M Downing ISIL continues to demonstrate not only its brutality but also its determination and effectiveness. Their Salafist-apocalyptic creed supersedes the tribal antagonisms and ill-regard for leaders that weaken other armies of the region, make them less stable, and force them to rely on foreign militaries. Despite a string Read More …
Brian M Downing Iraqi forces began the effort to retake Mosul from ISIL some ten weeks ago. Though ISIL troops are greatly outnumbered, and have no defense from airstrikes, they have put up a formidable defense of their prized Iraqi holding. ISIL fighters continue to demonstrate that they are the Read More …
Brian M Downing Once Aleppo is completely taken and reasonably secure, Assad and Putin will turn their attention to the last rebel city in the west, Idlib. Their tactics of intensive airstrikes followed by ground assaults are effective, if inhumane. The rebels have no protection from Russian aircraft. Their foreign Read More …