White House fires back at Dick Cheney over 'dithering' remarks

The White House blasted former Vice President Dick Cheney on Thursday for his criticism that the Obama administration is "dithering" on Afghanistan.

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs went after the former vice president, suggesting that Cheney's call for quick action in Afghanistan from President Barack Obama contrasts sharply with Cheney's own record while in office.

"What Vice President Cheney calls dithering, President Obama calls his solemn responsibility to American men and women in uniform, and the men and women of this country," Gibbs said in his daily briefing.

"I think we've all seen what can happen when somebody doesn't take this responsibility seriously," Gibbs added.

Cheney launched one of the most stringent criticisms of the Obama administration's approach to Afghanistan in a speech Wednesday evening, suggesting that Obama "seems afraid" to make a decision on Gen. Stanley McChrystal's recommendation for more troops in the country.

"I think it's a curious comment given, I think it's pretty safe to say, that the vice president was for seven years not focused on Afghan," Gibbs said. "Even more curious given that an increase in troops sat on desks in this White House, include the vice president's for more than eight months."