Ministers land in Kabul for talks
The cabinet ministers met US commander Gen Stanley McChrystal
Three cabinet ministers, led by Foreign Secretary William Hague, have arrived in Kabul to meet political and military leaders in the Afghan capital.
Mr Hague, Defence Secretary Liam Fox and International Development Secretary Andrew Mitchell are looking at ways to accelerate Afghan troop training.
Dr Fox said he was seeking to pull out UK troops "as soon as possible" and Britain was not a "global policeman".
But Mr Mitchell said it was "crucial" to create a functioning Afghan state.
Interviewed by journalists on their RAF flight into Kabul, the ministers indicated they were not planning any significant changes to UK policy on Afghanistan.
And Dr Fox said the sacrifices of British troops remained essential.
"When I got this job the very first question I asked myself was ＇do we have to be in Afghanistan, do our troops have to take these costs of life and limb?＇ And my answer is still ＇yes＇."
We are not in Afghanistan for the sake of the education policy in a broken 13th-century country
Liam Fox, defence secretary
However, in an earlier interview with The Times, Dr Fox suggested he was seeking ways of getting troops home.
"We need to accept we are at the limit of numbers now and I would like the forces to come back as soon as possible," he said.
In the first Afghanistan visit of the new coalition government, he confirmed the ministers would be examining whether Afghans could manage their own security by 2014 - as suggested by General Stanley McChrystal, the US commander of the international forces in Afghanistan.
"I want to talk to people on the ground, our trainers, to see whether there is room to accelerate [Afghan troop training] without diminishing the quality."
＇Stable society crucial＇
He also argued that British troops were not in the country to fix Afghan society.
"We have to reset expectations and timelines," he said. "National security is the focus now. We are not a global policeman. We are not in Afghanistan for the sake of the education policy in a broken 13th-century country. We are there so the people of Britain and our global interests are not threatened."
We need to ensure that we help the Afghan people to build a functioning state
Andrew Mitchell, international development secretary
The BBC＇s Mark Dummett in Kabul said these were "strong words" from Dr Fox that signalled the new administration was considering a different approach to the war from its Labour predecessors.
Meanwhile, however, Mr Mitchell has insisted it is "absolutely crucial" to create a stable society in Afghanistan.
"We need to ensure that we help the Afghan people to build a functioning state," he said.
"That＇s about providing basic education and healthcare facilities, but it＇s also about ensuring there are opportunities for promoting livelihoods so that people have jobs."
Col Richard Kemp, former commander of British troops in Afghanistan, told BBC Radio 4＇s Today programme there seemed to be a "change of approach" from the government but that ministers needed to "get their act together on the message".
Battling the insurgents that threatened the security of Britain and creating a functioning Afghan state and were both valid objectives, he said.
"The priority, as Liam Fox says, is to deal with the security situation in Afghanistan and to ensure the streets of the UK and the rest of the world are safer than they are at present.
"But in order for them to do that, we must rebuild and repair the society in Afghanistan - and that does include things like education policy, the economy, governance etc."
Nato restructuring
Mr Hague earlier said the three ministers were travelling together to ensure they had "a properly coherent British approach to Afghanistan".
He added: "The question is how to support the efforts of the Afghan government and our Nato partners, not whether to support them."
The three Conservative ministers will meet senior Afghan politicians, including President Hamid Karzai, and General McChrystal.
The talks come after a Sea King helicopter carrying British troops was hit by enemy fire while landing in Helmand province in the south of Afghanistan.
An Army spokesman said the aircraft was arriving at a checkpoint in the Nad-e Ali on Friday when it was hit.
The Ministry of Defence has also announced that about 8,000 British troops based in Helmand province are to come under the operational command of the US.
The move is part of a restructuring of Nato forces, with command and control in southern Afghanistan split into two.
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