Afghan President Hamid Karzai appealed directly to US President George W. Bush today to "do more" to improve security in his war-torn country.
But Mr Bush stopped short of promising an increase in financial assistance beyond funds already in the pipeline as the United States braces for a costly war with Iraq.
"The United States and yourself have helped tremendously in the past year to rebuild Afghanistan, to help us in all aspects of life ... You have helped us with the roads, with the building of the national army of Afghanistan," Mr Karzai said during an Oval Office meeting with Mr Bush.
But Mr Karzai pointedly added: "I'm also here to ask you to do more for us in making the life of the Afghan people better, more stable, more peaceful."
Mr Karzai wants the United States to help subsidize his budget so that he can pay 100,000 irregular militiamen living in the provinces.
He says foreign donors could also help by paying the salaries of the 3,000 soldiers in the existing Afghan army, which cannot come out of the usual aid funds. The Afghan government has little revenue of its own because it cannot collect tax revenues from the provinces, he argues.
Mr Bush sought to assure Mr Karzai that the Iraqi crisis would not distract attention from the needs of Afghanistan.