US Defence Secretary Robert Gates has said that Afghanistan's security forces need to be strengthened, but he added that the US is committed to help for the long haul.
Speaking in Kabul, where Mr Gates met President Karzai, he said "we know that you prefer to have Afghans protecting Afghans".
Mr Gates is the first member of US President Barack Obama's cabinet to visit Afghanistan since Obama's announcement last week that he is sending 30,000 reinforcements, but intends to pare down the US role in July 2011.
One-Minute World News 
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