Gibbs calls out Cantor on Afghanistan
By Sam Youngman - 09/30/09 02:41 PM ET
With Republicans accusing President Barack Obama of stalling on a new Afghanistan strategy, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs took a shot at the House minority whip Wednesday.
Gibbs blasted Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va.), who has accused Obama of dragging his feet on sending more troops to the region, saying that Republicans like Cantor weren't as impatient when former President George W. Bush was considering the Iraq surge strategy.
Cantor and other Republicans say Obama is stalling on making a decision even though U.S. commanders have said, in a report leaked to The Washington Post, that they need more troops for success in Afghanistan.
"I don't recall Congressman Cantor saying that when Gen. David McKiernan's request for 30,000 additional troops sat on the desk of the previous commander in chief," Gibbs said. "I don't remember him going to a newspaper or on television saying that that commander in chief was endangering the lives of men and women in Afghanistan."
Gibbs said if Cantor and other Republicans "didn't say that under a somewhat similar circumstance, then it's a bunch of game-playing."
"And I would say this to Congressman Cantor and everybody else: The American people deserve an assessment that's beyond game-playing," Gibbs said.
Gibbs also said he was looking "forward to his response on what he said to the previous administration when that request was sitting on the desk."more...
http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/60969-gibbs-calls-out-cantor-on-afghanistan-criticism