Brian M Downing and the world at war. Timely, thoughtful, and nonpartisan analysis of military matters. @BrianMDowning1.
Stephen Tankel, Storming the World Stage: The Story of Lashkar-e-Taiba. (London: C. Hurst and Co., 2011). Brian M Downing There are a dozen or more militant groups operating today along the Af-Pak frontier. Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) remained relatively unknown outside of the region and a few intelligence circles until it launched Read More …
Brian M Downing China’s emergence as a global economic power is clear. How China will affect governments around the world, isn’t. Over the last decade, it has gone abroad and locked up critical oil and ore contracts and embarked upon numerous major construction projects such as railroads, pipelines, and port Read More …
Brian M Downing President Obama has announced the withdrawal from Afghanistan of ten thousand US troops by the end of this year, with another twenty-three thousand to depart by the middle of 2012. Partisan politicians and the military will find this too steep and try to slow the pace, but Read More …
Brian M Downing (from 2011) Ties between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan are long-standing but for the most part have not stood out in the turbulent affairs of the region. However, increased tensions with Iran, the Arab Spring, and growing disenchantment with the United States are making the relationship more expansive, Read More …
Brian M Downing With the change of presidents in 2009, many observers expected to see a decline in unmanned aircraft strikes inside Pakistan. After all, these drone attacks were widely seen as part of the George W Bush administration’s heavy-handed approach to going after terrorists along the AfPak line. The Read More …
Ties between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan are longstanding but for the most part have not stood out in the turbulent affairs of the region. However, increased tensions with Iran, the Arab Spring, and growing disenchantment with the US are making the relationship more expansive, more prominent, and more dangerous. Read More …
Brian M Downing Wars are often fought over natural resources and peace agreements wrestle over them. And any settlement in Afghanistan will have to contend with them. China, aloof from the war but enmeshed in the economy, is positioning itself to be the biggest winner. China already operates an immense Read More …
Brian M Downing The United States is seeking a negotiated settlement in Afghanistan. It hopes to reverse the Taliban’s momentum and bring them to the bargaining table through a counter-insurgency program, diplomacy with indigenous tribes and foreign powers, and the attrition of Taliban forces. This, the US expects, will give Read More …
Brian M Downing Much of the world is befuddled by the actions and ineptitude of Afghan President Hamid Karzai. It has led to speculation that he is manic depressive, an opium addict, or just singularly unskilled in politics. As with assessing a figure as “evil” or “insane,” this tends to Read More …
Brian M Downing The ongoing insurgency in the Pashtun regions of Afghanistan rightly commands attention, but it obscures a critical second conflict in the country. Longstanding antagonisms between the non-Pashtun peoples of the North and the Pashtun people of the South are heading toward fissure. Paradoxically, settlement of the insurgency, through negotiation Read More …