Britain, whose troops are part of the US-led coalition forces in Afghanistan has said it will be possible to crush the Taliban and bring the war-torn nation back on the path of development, but it will be long way off.

"I think we have to realise we're in for a long haul. It will be years before the Taliban are crushed and could well be decades before our other objectives are achieved," UK's new Defence Secretary John Hutton told The Sunday Times.

Asserting that aims of development cannot be achieved unless insurgency is dealt with, Hutton said, "You have got to deal with the insurgency first and foremost."

Unless there's security, not just in Kabul but the rest of the country, you can put in all the social investment and economic development you like - it's not going to work, he said.

"If you construct a school and the Taliban turn up a month later and bulldoze the building you've built, then you're back to square one," he exemplified.

Claiming that the morale of the British military is "extraordinarily high," the new Defence Secretary said, "We are pulling more than our weight."

Calling for a fair and appropriate sharing of the troop burden across Nato countries he said, "if more troops are needed Nato allies should supply them."