Jack Straw has today said that the coalition against terror must not turn its back on Afghanistan once the Taliban has been defeated.

In a speech, the foreign secretary said that the West must respond with a non-military solution to the current crisis.

Addressing the media ahead of his speech, Straw said that Britain and its allies must undertake to give a long-term commitment to Afghanistan.

Straw called on his international counterparts to put in place an alternative administration ahead of the defeat of the Taliban.

His intervention followed an intense diplomatic effort aimed at bringing together rival Afghan groups in a bid to create a government-in-waiting for the troubled state.

In his speech, Straw suggested that the current crisis has been allowed to develop as a result of the West's failure to stop Osama Bin Laden "hijacking" Afganistan.

Straw said: "Military action is not in itself a long-term answer but an essential first step in achieving our campaign aims. We are not going to predict how long military action will take but in time we need to be working out a robust plan for the future of Afghanistan. Terrorists are strongest where states are weakest. Osama Bin Laden and al Qaeda found safe havens in places not just in Afghanistan but where government and society have collapsed."

The foreign secretary put forward a four-point plan aimed at resolving the crisis faced by the Afghan people. Whilst he will stress that the future of Afghanistan lies principally in the hands of the Afghan people he will call for the creation of a new regime led by the United Nations.

Menzies Campbell, the Liberal Democrat shadow foreign secretary, said the government's support for UN involvement should be backed up by action.

"There is no doubt that Jack Straw is right to say that there is a vital role for the United Nations to play in the reconstruction politically and physically of Afghanistan. But unless it is provided with the economic, political and military resources with which to work there is an overwhelming risk that the UN could be left as a 'fall guy' picking up the pieces," he said.

Straw's speech came as British preparation for a ground-based military action reaches its final stage and as the emphasis of the Afghanistan conflict shifts to end-game scenarios.

Number 10 gave a heavy hint of UK troop involvement in special forces operations over the weekend, when a spokesman said the UK had "world renowned expertise" in the kind of ground effort required inside Afghanistan.

Tony Blair is discussing plans for the deployment of British soldiers alongside American troops as the Western coalition steps up operations in a race against time, as winter approaches Afghanistan.

While special forces from the SAS are almost certainly already engaged in covert actions against the Taliban, "detailed discussions" are taking place with Washington to allow the use of UK soldiers form the Parachute Regiment or the Royal Marines in "overt operations".