Gates also addressed Afghanistan, where Obama is planning on escalating the US occupation.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates: ”There is little doubt that our greatest military challenge right now is Afghanistan. As you know, the United States has focused more on Central Asia in recent months. President Obama has made it clear that the Afghanistan theater should be our top overseas military priority.”

Gates’s comments come as the Obama administration says it plans on taking a “tougher line” toward Afghan president Hamid Karzai. The New York Times reports White House officials now see Karzai as “a potential impediment to American goals” because of corruption in his government. But Karzai has also recently angered US officials by criticizing deadly US air strikes and demanding a timetable for a withdrawal of foreign troops.