Robert Gates and Mike Mullen both warned of limited time in Afghanistan
The situation in Afghanistan is serious, but success is achievable
NATO supply trucks wrecked in an explosion Sunday sit in Chaman, Pakistan. The vehicles were originally bound for Afghanistan.
Only now does the US have sufficient resources on the ground to start implementing President Barack Obama's new Afghan strategy, Mr Gates said.
His comments come days after the top US general in Afghanistan called for a fresh approach to the conflict.
Gen Stanley McChrystal said success was possible, but strategy must change.
Days after receiving Gen McChrystal's detailed report into the Afghan conflict, Mr Gates spoke in defence of Mr Obama's approach to Afghanistan at a Pentagon news conference with Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Later on Friday British Prime Minister Gordon Brown is due to restate his commitment to Afghanistan in a major speech.
Speaking at the Pentagon, Mr Gates said firmly: "I don't believe that the war is slipping through the administration's fingers."
"I absolutely do not think it is time to get out of Afghanistan," he said, but cautioned that there remains "limited time for us to show that... this approach is working".
Alongside his civilian boss, Adm Mullen repeated the charge that for years the mission in Afghanistan was poorly funded and staffed.
"Part of why it has gotten more serious and has deteriorated has been directly tied to that," he said. But the situation could be turned around in the next 12 to 18 months, he said.
Speaking of the possibility of increasing the number of US troops even further, Mr Gates said he would only consider that option if Afghans felt reassured by a larger military presence.
He reiterated that the danger posed by al-Qaeda and the Taliban was the main reason for the continuing US presence in Afghanistan.
In a speech on the war, which has claimed 212 British lives since 2001, Prime Minister Mr Brown will say: "When the security of our country is at stake we cannot walk away."
In a strategic assessment sent to US leaders in August but yet to be published officially, Gen Stanley McChrystal, who was appointed as US commander in Afghanistan earlier this year, called for a new approach.
"The situation in Afghanistan is serious, but success is achievable and demands a revised implementation strategy, commitment and resolve, and increased unity of effort," Gen McChrystal wrote.
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