British army leaves war to Americans

“Afghanistan: Now it's America's war”,headlines the Independent, the day after the British army announced its withdrawal from Sangin, in Helmand province. Described as a "honey pot" for Taliban insurgents, Sangin has claimed 99 of Britain’s 312 casualties in Helmand. British troops are to be replaced by some of the 20,000 US soldiers already in the province this autumn, while British PM David Cameron forsees a complete pull-out by 2015. The London daily notes that “the reality on the ground is that Helmand, and southern Afghanistan as a whole, is now very much an American show.”