WASHINGTON, Sept. 30 (UPI) -- A White House spokesman called out House Republican Whip Eric Cantor of Virginia, who said President Obama was slow to send more troops to Afghanistan.
Robert Gibbs noted during a news briefing Wednesday that Cantor and other Republicans didn't make similar comments when former President George W. Bush was developing the Iraq surge strategy.
"I think the political climate seems to be affecting what people say on cable television," Gibbs said. "I don't recall Congressman Cantor saying that when General David McKiernan's request for 30,000 additional troops sat on the desk of the previous commander in chief. 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 raise similar concerns during the Bush administration, "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, adding he looked forward to Cantor's response about what he said "when that request was sitting on the desk" during the previous administration.
Cantor spokesman Brad Dayspring said the congressman was "was the first to support" Obama when he said the mission in Afghanistan was a war of necessity, The Hill reported
"The fact is that our commanders in the field have conveyed a clear sense of urgency that a timely decision by the commander in chief could ultimately determine the success or failure of the mission," Dayspring said. "Mr. Gibbs knows that. Mr. Cantor hopes that the president will stand by his original commitment and believes that he will make the right decision."
