Brian M Downing and the world at war. Timely, thoughtful, and nonpartisan analysis of military matters. @BrianMDowning1.
Brian M Downing Containment II An obvious response to Putin is to strengthen the system of alliances and bases that surrounded the old Soviet Union. George F Kennan called for containment in his 1947 Foreign Policy article. NATO, SEATO, CENTO, and the rearmament of Germany quickly followed. Kennan, however, came Read More …
Brian M Downing Spirited demonstrations are rocking Moscow. The crowds are angry over the summary arrest of Alexei Navalny. The formidable critic of Putin’s autocracy was almost certainly poisoned at Putin’s decree yet he returned to build opposition. The demonstrators are courageous. The jarring youth movements in many parts of Read More …
Brian M Downing President Biden will have his hands full. A slew of domestic problems await him. The same holds for international ones. China and Russia will present new problems and exacerbate old ones. The confrontation will take place at a pivotal moment in history. One great power is facing Read More …
Brian M Downing Biden’s foreign policy team has a lot of work to do. Its predecessors relied on the counsel of inexperienced loyalists and relatives, slighted long-standing allies, and acted arbitrarily and inconsistently. Iran will be important. The Trump administration walked away from the JCPOA and climbed the escalation tree. Read More …
Brian M Downing The Russian view Russian political culture has been shaped by devastating Mongol, Lithuanian, Polish, Swedish, French, and German invasions. Russian villagers have had to scan open horizons for signs of danger. Rulers in the Kremlin have had to do the same. Events along the periphery today are Read More …
Brian M Downing A powerful but uneasy alliance At the outset of this century, Russia was still recovering from the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. The military and state were in disarray, the economy was struggling with the transition to private ownership, several SSRs had declared independence, and Read More …
Brian M Downing Foreign policy is a long game. It’s been going on for millennia. Major powers come and go, alliances are forged and break down. The US, Russia, and China have been friends and enemies in just the last century. Things change and the circumstances of today between those Read More …
Brian M Downing Thousands of miles east of Moscow, just northwest of China’s Xinjiang province, Putin faces another problem. Kyrgyzstan, a former SSR, is in turmoil after an obviously rigged election and angry, determined crowds have taken to the streets of Bishkek. As with many SSRs, power is in the Read More …
Brian M Downing Earlier this year Putin’s strategic position was quite good. The alliance with China was sound, Iran and Venezuela were defying American threats, and Turkey was moving away from NATO. Then came a political crisis in Belarus, a war in the Caucasus, and more recently an upheaval in Read More …
Brian M Downing Eastern Syria has been the scene of intermittent skirmishes between American and American-backed forces on one hand and Syrian and Russian troops on the other. In the last month Russian vehicles bumped US counterparts, probably deliberately, injuring several GIs. There’ve been far more serious incidents. Two years Read More …