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Peter Bergen is CNN's national security analyst, a vice president at New America and a professor of practice at Arizona State University. Bergen's new paperback is "The Rise and fall of Osama bin Laden." from which this article is, in part, adapted. The views expressed in this commentary are his own. View more opinion on CNN. (CNN) In 1961, after a CIA-backed invasion of Cuba failed spectacularly, President John F. Kennedy said of the Bay of Pigs fiasco, "Victory has 100 fathers and defeat is an orphan." Peter Bergen Last week, President Joe Biden took a victory lap when he announced that the US had tracked down and killed its most wanted terrorist, al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri, who was living in a house in Kabul, Afghanistan. Don't expect a similar celebration on August 30, the first anniversary of the US troop withdrawal from Afghanistan, which ended the longest war in American history. Any realistic assessment of that action shows that it … [Read more...] about Opinion: Biden’s Afghanistan exit decision looks even worse a year later

RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das. (File photo) Dear Reader , A day before the monetary policy announcement, the yield on the 10-year bond fell sharply on a media report that the MPC would signal a pause after Friday’s hike. Thankfully, the MPC held firm, refusing to oblige the bond markets. Not only did it increase the repo rate by 50 basis points, but also the MPC signalled more rate hikes in future by refusing to tone down its ‘withdrawal of accommodation’ stance. Much is being made of the fact that the policy rate is now at the pre-pandemic level. At 5.4 percent, the repo rate is now back to where it was in September 2019. But that is n​o big deal. GDP growth was a measly 3.7 percent in 2019-20 compared to RBI’s projection of 7.2 percent in 2022-23; retail inflation was a much lower 4.8 percent in 2019-20, compared to a projected 6.7 percent for 2022-23; the current account deficit was a comfortable 0.9 percent of GDP in 2019-20 as against projections of around 3 percent … [Read more...] about Moneycontrol Pro Weekender | Shaktikanta Das refuses to pivot

Tan Sri Shahrir Ab Samad (The Edge filepix by Zahid Izzani) - A + A KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 9): The High Court here on Tuesday (Aug 9) heard that Taman Kebun Teh UMNO branch in Johor had received a cheque worth RM10,000 from former Felda chairman Tan Sri Shahrir Ab Samad for the expenses of a football tournament, nine years ago. Its deputy chief Abu Bakar Abd Aziz, 72, said the donation was deposited into the Maybank Islamic account, which is the official account of the branch, on Dec 10, 2013. "On Dec 13, 2013, a cheque worth RM7,000 was issued to Mohamad Danial Zainal Abidin who is the Taman Kebun Teh UMNO Youth chief for the expenses of the YB Tan Sri Shahrir Hj Ab Samad Football Tournament," Abu Bakar said, adding that he had applied for the donation himself because Shahrir is the Johor Bahru UMNO division chief. He said this when reading his witness statement at the trial of the former Johor Bahru MP, who is charged with failing to declare RM1 million which he … [Read more...] about Taman Kebun Teh Umno branch received RM10,000 contribution from Shahrir, says witness

Former Sen. Leila De Lima. (File photo by LYN RILLON / Philippine Daily Inquirer) MANILA, Philippines — The Office of the Ombudsman has dropped the bribery case filed against former Sen. Leila de Lima and her former aide, Ronnie Dayan, as it found no probable cause for the accusation. The resolution ordering the dismissal of the case was dated July 22 but was released only on Tuesday, Aug. 9. The resolution said there were glaring inconsistencies in the testimonies provided by the complainant, the Special Investigation Team of the Office of the Ombudsman. De Lima was supposed to have received bribe money – collected by Dayan —  from convicted drug dealer Kerwin Espinosa. The inconsistencies, the resolution said, “would prevent a reasonable mind from concluding that the respondents are probably guilty of the offenses charged against them.” The resolution noted that Espinosa testified that it was Dayan who got the money from him.  However, government witness Marcelo … [Read more...] about Ombudsman junks bribery case vs De Lima, Dayan

BIDEN DEEPLY UNPOPULAR WITH VOTERS… WSJ: Biden, Democrats Lose Ground on Key Issues, WSJ Poll Finds WASHINGTON—President Biden and his fellow Democrats have lost ground to Republicans on several of the issues most important to voters, a new Wall Street Journal poll finds, a troubling sign for the party seeking to extend its controlling majority of Congress for another two years. The new survey showed that 57% of voters remained unhappy with Mr. Biden’s job performance, despite favorable marks for the president’s response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and a recent State of the Union speech, which provided him an opportunity to directly speak to millions of Americans. Just 42% said they approved of Mr. Biden’s performance in office, which was virtually unchanged from the previous Journal poll in mid-November. Meanwhile, Democratic advantages narrowed over Republicans on issues related to improving education and the Covid-19 response. A 16-percentage-point Democratic edge … [Read more...] about Editor Daily Rundown: Joe Biden Deeply Unpopular With Voters