Posted on 10/22/2009 10:58:43 AM PDT by markomalley
Last night, former Vice president Cheney had some harsh comments about President Obama’s decision making process about strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan, saying "the White House must stop dithering while America's armed forces are in danger."
At this afternoon’s briefing, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs fired back.
“It's a curious comment,” Gibbs said, arguing that “the vice president was for seven years not focused on Afghanistan. Even more curious given the fact that an increase in troops sat on desks in this White House, including the vice president's, for more than eight months, a resource request filled by President Obama in March.”
Gibbs was referring to a troop request by Gen. David McKiernan (Ret.), whose retirement Defense Secretary Robert Gates requested and received in May.
“What Vice President Cheney calls ‘dithering,’” Gibbs said, “President Obama calls his solemn responsibility to the men and women in uniform and to the American public. I think we've all seen what happens when somebody doesn't take that responsibility seriously.”
Asked for further clarification about who didn’t take that responsibility seriously, Gibbs said he was referring to Cheney not filling McKiernan's troop request.
“I find it interesting that he's blaming us for something that he didn't see fit to do over, best I can tell, seven years of a war in Afghanistan,” Gibbs said, adding that the former vice president "seems to have forgotten his role in the last seven years in Afghanistan.” Gibbs argued that Cheney's argument doesn't make sense given that he didn’t fill McKiernan's request for troops to go from the then-level of approximately 35,000 to 65,000, but is criticizing President Obama for taking time to contemplate increasing the level from 65,000 to 100,000.
"Fuzzy math," Gibbs said.
Cheney may have been responding to comments by White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel, who told CNN on Sunday that “when you go through all the analysis, it's clear that basically we had a war for eight years that was going on, that's adrift. That we're beginning at scratch, and just from the starting point, after eight years.”
When asked for evidence of what Emanuel was talking about, the White House has pointed to comments from Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who said that President Obama’s counter insurgency strategy announced in March “is the first real strategy we have had for Afghanistan since the early 1980s.”
Lets see how can we marginalize Cheney? My bet is on Cheney.
The libs hate Cheney because he makes them look like the spoiled, goofy, mental adolescents which they most surely are.
I find it pretty strange Gibbs seems to think that deciding troop strength is a Vice-Presidential task.
I wonder why Joe Biden is dithering?
Cheney oozes integrity and credibility and Bagdad Bob Gibbs is a hack and a liar. Gee....who to believe
I guess getting that thar Nobel Peace Prize kinda changed things since March....
Obama Administration running foreign policy like pee wee soccer. Everyone gets a trophy and there’s no winners or losers.
Someone hit a nerve, his criticism of Obama is well placed.
If memory serves wasn’t it the democrats who asked President Bush NOT to make any major changes in Afghanistan for about the last year because of the election?
I seem to remember them whining that they didn’t want a lame duck president making any changes that would be hard to undo if they won the election and had more to deal with.
Crush dissent! Exile the critics! Then, after these important tasks are done, we will see about that whole "governing" thing.
Let's see, a few minutes squeezed in while on the runway during an attempt to get his Chicago buddies on the Olympic gravy train is all he could spare for the general in charge of "the most important theater in the war". And that was only after he took some heat on 60 Minutes for not seeing the general. Yeah, lots of solumn responsibility there.
But Clinton, Carter and Gore took the gloves off as they pummeled the Bush administration mercilessly for 8 years, all the while President Bush did not respond.
Now we are seeing that the Dems can dish it out, but can't take it.
Cheney speaks, the White Hut panics. This is a recording.
Every time I have to look at Gibbs standing there I fondly remember Tony Snow and think how he would have handled the same question if he was asked.
Gibbs is not even in the same league as Tony, man I miss him.
Let’s ask the troops who they trust, Cheney or Biden.
Bush or Obama?
Gibbs looks like the idiot thug he is. Cheney had already said they handed the report to the Obama elect.....
Cheney! Cheney! Cheney!
Gonna make some popcorn.
Truth=White House blames the previous administration for the growing mess in Afghanistan, Cheney responds pointing out the Bush administration handed over to Obama a detailed plan which Obama subsequently abandoned, White House accuses Cheney of letting down the troops.
Good thing there are real 'authentic' news organizations out there like ABC to counter FNC's faux news./s
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