Washington, Nov 16 - Saying that the US was not interested in a long-term presence in Afghanistan to rebuild the country and have a functioning democracy, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said the primary American mission there was defeating Al Qaeda.

'We're not interested in staying in Afghanistan; we're not interested in any long-term presence there,' Clinton told the NBC programme 'Meet the Press' Sunday.

'We want to get Al Qaeda, we want to disrupt, dismantle and defeat those who attacked us, and we want to be able to give the Afghans the tools that they need to be able to defend themselves,' Clinton said.

On the ABC show 'This Week,' Clinton said she has 'made it clear' the United States won't provide civilian aid to Afghan government agencies without an effective certification process that shows the money will be spent on its intended purposes.

'We believe that President [Hamid] Karzai and his government can do better,' Clinton said, adding that President Obama's government was 'looking for tangible evidence' that the Karzai government would be more responsive to the needs of the Afghan people.

She cited the need for the Karzai government to crack down on fraud and 'demonstrate there's not impunity for those who are corrupt.