NEW : Our relationship with Afghan ` ` a long - term commitment , '' Robert Gates says . NEW : U.S. defense secretary meets with Afghan President Hamid Khan in Kabul . Karzai sets his own timeline goal for security handover in Afghanistan . `` As security improves our relationship grows ... especially with economic and political development . Gates acknowledges that ` ` for most part '' better paid than Afghan security forces .
NEW : Our relationship with Afghan ` ` a long - term commitment , '' Robert Gates says . NEW : U.S. defense secretary meets with Afghan President Hamid Khan in Kabul . Karzai sets his own timeline goal for security handover in Afghanistan . Gates acknowledges that ` ` for most part '' better paid than Afghan security forces .