Washington (CNN) -- Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton declared the Afghan leader's visit to the United States this week a success, saying on Thursday that it had helped strengthen the partnership between Washington and Kabul at a critical point in the war against Taliban and al Qaeda extremists. They also stressed that President Obama's July 2011 deadline to start withdrawing U.S. forces from Afghanistan did not represent a weakening of America's commitment to the war-torn Islamic republic. The two leaders spoke at the U.S. Institute of Peace in Washington -- part of what became a week of playing down tensions between U.S. and Afghan officials.
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NEW: Clinton says expected Kandahar offensive is not "D-Day"
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NEW: Karzai says issue of his brother has been resolved with United States
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Karzai visits graves of U.S. soldiers at Arlington Cemetery
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Meetings this week have tried to play down tensions between Washington and Kabul
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