Brian M Downing and the world at war. Timely, thoughtful, and nonpartisan analysis of military matters. @BrianMDowning1.
Brian M Downing Over the past 10 years, the Taliban have recovered from their ouster and established a presence in half of Afghanistan’s districts, where they have become a de facto government in many of them. The Afghan government is frail and unwilling to reform. The United States is war-weary 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 …