(GOLDSBORO) -- U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said that the killing of Osama bin Laden could be a game-changer for the U.S. military in Afghanistan by splitting the native Taliban from the al-Qaeda terror network.

"Frankly, I think it's too early to make a judgment in terms of the impact inside Afghanistan, but I think in six months or so, we'll probably know if it's made a difference," he said.

Gates spoke at the Seymour Johnson Air Force Base in Goldsboro on Friday. He also said that many Taliban feel betrayed by al-Qaeda, whose attack on September 11, 2001 led to the U.S. invasion that drove the Taliban from power in Afghanistan.