Detailed Instructions: Given a text, write a compressed version of it in a single sentence.
Q: He and his associates, supported by Clarke, pressed for developing a partnership with the Northern Alliance, even though doing so might bring the United States squarely behind one side in Afghanistan's long-running civil war.
A:
He and is associates pressed for developing a partnership with the Northern Alliance, even though doing so might bring the U.S. behind in Afghanistan's civil war