Posted Saturday, November 7 at 11:28 PM CST; Sunday, November 8 at 12:28 AM EST, 0528 GMT.
Top stories in Sunday morning’s London papers:
1) The Independent on Sunday has published a leading article recommending that British combat operations in Afghanistan be wound down within one year. The editors’ decision was clinched by the unsatisfactory outcome of the Afghan elections. “For British soldiers to be deployed in support of a president whose position is bolstered by ballot-rigging tips the balance of our view from reluctant backing for the mission in Afghanistan to regretful opposition…. Ultimately, we should make a British decision in the British interest. And that decision should be to wind down combat operations over a period – say, by Remembrance Sunday next year – and to restrict the mission to training the Afghan army and police force. Special forces operations should continue, especially on the Pakistan border, to disrupt any attempt by al-Qa’ida to return. But beyond that it is time to act on the observation of David Miliband, the Foreign Secretary, that there can be no military solution in Afghanistan.”
2) The Sunday Times reports that British commanders in Afghanistan are preparing a “retrenchment” strategy in which several bases would be abandoned and British forces would confine themselves to defending the larger towns in Helmand province. A senior commander told the paper: “The new strategy will have to be handled sensitively. But we can’t do everything, everywhere. We must concentrate our efforts in a few geographical areas. We have to select specific areas to hold and then do the job properly.” Cabinet ministers are concerned that the new strategy would be seen as defeatist. A final decision will await the completion of U. S. President Barack Obama’s review of strategy in Afghanistan.
3) The Sunday Telegraph reports that Prime Minister Gordon Brown has suffered a snub, as leading nations have rejected his proposal for a so-called “Tobin tax” on financial transactions to fund future bank bailouts. U. S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner responded: “That’s not something that we’re prepared to support.” Objections were also raised by Canadian finance minister Jim Flaherty and by Dominique Strauss-Khan, head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). “The swiftness of the rejection was a serious blow for Mr Brown who had gone to [St. Andrews in] Scotland to deliver a trenchant message to banks worldwide amid continuing public anger over their return to profitability and bonus payments after being kept afloat by taxpayers,” the Sunday Telegraph report remarks.
4) The Observer reports on leaked documents that purport to show that the Labour government may be prepared to renege on its promise to increase funding for training of apprentices. “Confidential papers obtained by The Observer show that, while Brown and his ministers have suggested they are raising investment in training, skills and apprenticeships, behind the scenes they are preparing some £350m of cuts for 2010-11 that will slash the number of training places on offer by hundreds of thousands.” The report provoked condemnations from business groups, unions, and the political opposition.