Commentary By Art Cyr

Bilal al-Sudani is not exactly a household name, which is all the more reason to highlight the fact that this dangerous terrorist leader has been removed. On January 26, U.S. military troops killed eleven members of the Islamic State, including him.

“We must formulate and put forward for other nations a much more positive and constructive picture … than we have put forward in the past.” This is from the famous “Long Telegram” sent from Moscow to Washington by diplomat George F. Kennan in early 1946. This brutal invasion of western Ukraine by Russia provides undeniable reminder that the world is difficult and dangerous, including old-fashioned military aggression.

The Federal Reserve Board of Governors has finally raised interest rates. On March 16, the central bank announced interest on reserve funds would be .4 percent. Bank currency transactions will keep interest rates in a range between .25 and .5 percent.

Further, officials indicated that several more interest rate increases would be coming down the pike this year, perhaps a total of six.

Last month, Queen Elizabeth of the United Kingdom celebrated her seventieth year on the throne. She is the first monarch of the nation to serve this long. For the rest of the year, there will be ceremonies marking this important anniversary in Britain, the Commonwealth and elsewhere around the world.

The Afghanistan aftermath drama is underway, featured center stage in the always-intense theater known as the United States Congress. Generals Mark Milley and Kenneth McKenzie, respectively Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Commander of the U.S. Central Command, testified before Congress on September 28.

The terrible disaster now unfolding in Afghanistan is a destructive reversal for the United States, and a serious policy and leadership failure on the part of President Joe Biden and his senior associates. However, the collapse of the established government institutions in Afghanistan is not a strategic defeat for the U.S. – not yet. The unwillingness of the administration to anticipate, at least at the top, and prepare for this scenario is a major failure.

The twentieth anniversary of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 on the World Trade Center twin towers in New York City, the Pentagon in Washington D.C., and in the skies over Pennsylvania, demands considered reflection. Two decades provide useful distance for relatively dispassionate discussion of how we reacted to the shocking, grotesque mass murder. The shorthand reference to the horror is “9/11”. How would an objective analyst evaluate the response of us Americans?

          “Just a nice piece of hitting.” That is how Nick Martinez, pitcher for the United States’ Olympic baseball team, complimented Japan’s Munetaka Murakami on batting a home run. At 21 years old, Murakami is the youngest starting lineup member of Japan’s strong team.
          The Olympic Summer Games concluded on August 8, with basketball, cycling track, marathon and rhythmic gymnastics among concluding events. The elegant closing ceremony symbolized very appropriately the ultimate success of this historic 17-day competition.