Sooner rather than later for Afghan pullout

Some British troops could return earlier than expected from Afghanistan amid reports that the United States is to scale down its deployment.

The Americans are reportedly considering withdrawing all 30,000 of their surge troops by late next year. Their official withdrawal begins next month.

That could entail British forces in the south of the country being cut by more than the 450.

President Barack Obama will address American voters this month and held talks with president Hamid Karzai yesterday. The option of setting out a timetable for ending the surge by next year is being discussed by the Pentagon, as well as White House officials.

It is believed that civilian advisers in the US see the death of Osama bin Laden as a chance to rethink strategy, but generals are believed to want a full complement of combat troops for another fighting season.

The ten-year conflict is costing the US taxpayer about 100 billion a year. Mr Cameron currently aims to have most UK troops home by the end of 2014.