The White House has criticised Dick Cheney, a former US vice-president, for claiming that US President Barack Obama is "dithering" over US troop deployments to Afghanistan.

Robert Gibbs, the White House press secretary, said on Thursday that Cheney had himself been guilty of neglecting the war in Afghanistan during his tenure.

"What Vice-President Cheney calls dithering, the president calls his solemn responsibility to the men and women in uniform and the American public," Gibbs said.

Gibbs was reacting to a comment made by Cheney at a dinner event in Washington on Wednesday, the latest in a series of criticisms he has made of the Obama administration's national security policy.

"Having announced his Afghanistan strategy last March, President Obama now seems afraid to make a decision, and unable to provide his commander on the ground with the troops he needs to complete his mission," Cheney said.

"The White House must stop dithering while America's armed forces are in danger."

Troop deployments

Cheney was referring to a request by General Stanley McChrystal, the commander of US and Nato forces in Iraq, for more troops to be deployed across Afghanistan to combat forces loyal to the Taliban and al-Qaeda.

McChrystal is reported to be seeking between 30,000 and 40,000 more US troops for the military campaign in Afghanistan, but Obama has not reached a decision on what the future military strategy should be.

Gibbs hit out at Cheney's suggestion that Obama is not moving fast enough on troop deployments to Afghanistan, citing the Bush administration's delay in deploying previous US troop contingents.

"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 [during George Bush's presidency] - including the vice-president's [Cheney] - for more than eight months."

"I think we've all seen what happens when somebody doesn't take that responsibility seriously."