Among the broadcast bulletins this morning, BBC Breakfast carried an interview with the Defence Secretary where he discussed Russian military action in Syria. He said that Russian intervention had made a difficult situation more dangerous, and added that NATO ministers, himself included, would be meeting in Brussels tomorrow to discuss the issue. He said that Russia needed to respect the rules, pointing towards their recent incursion of Turkish airspace, concluding that the focus needed to be on tackling ISIL, which he said is the real threat. Elsewhere, outlets including BBC Radio 4’s Today programme are reporting that the new phase of the operation to deal with people smuggling in the Mediterranean will include the Royal Navy’s HMS Richmond, as announced in September here.
Afghanistan
There is reporting, (The Times, the Financial Times, The Guardian) and news in briefs in the Daily Telegraph, The Sun and Daily Mirror, of evidence given by US General John Campbell to the Senate following an air strike on a Medicine Sans Frontieres hospital in Kunduz. Stories report that General Campbell has admitted that the strike was a “US decision made within the US chain of command” and the hospital was mistakenly struck following calls from Afghan security forces for air support.
Other angles in reporting, notably in The Times and Financial Times, include General Campbell’s calls for “strategic patience” in Afghanistan, with stories suggesting that General Campbell wants to see President Obama to rethink his plans to withdraw most troops from the country, after he pointed out that ISIL, the Taliban and al-Qaeda all posed growing threats.
NATO Warning to Russia
The Guardian, The Sun and the Wall Street Journal all include articles looking at the recent Russian incursions of Turkish airspace. All include comments from NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, who has rejected Russian explanations that the violations were accidental, saying that that the violations lasted for a long time and did not look like accidents.
Image of the Day
Follow us on Twitter and don’t forget to sign up for email alerts.