THE TELEGRAPH: Cabinet ministers are at loggerheads about the future involvement of British troops in Afghanistan.
The potentially damaging split opened up as three members of the government, led by the Foreign Secretary William Hague, arrived in Kabul to meet political and military leaders.
Mr Hague, the Defence Secretary Liam Fox and the International Development Secretary Andrew Mitchell said they were there to look at ways to accelerate Afghan troop training.
But deep divisions immediately became apparent over future strategy. While Mr Mitchell said it was "crucial" to create a functioning Afghan state by providing good health care and education, Dr Fox insisted that Britain was not there to fix Afghanistan. Ahead of talks with President Hamid Karzai, he also risked angering locals by referring to Afghanistan as "13th century". >>> Melissa Kite, Deputy Political Editor | Saturday, May 22, 2010
