Former US Defence Secretary Robert Gates in his memoir mixes strong praise with scathing criticism for President Barack Obama, lauding his "courageous" decision to order killing of Osama bin Laden in Pakistan, but criticising him for lacking faith in his own Afghan strategy.
Excerpts of Gates's forthcoming memoir 'Duty: Memoirs of a Secretary at War' was released by The New York Times, in which he appears to be highly critical of Obama on a number of front and also slams Vice President Joe Biden.
At a key meeting in March, 2011, in the White House situation room, Obama told advisers he was frustrated with Gen David Petraeus - who was then leading the war effort - and Afghan President Hamid Karzai, Gates writes.
"As I sat there, I thought: The president doesn't trust his commander, can't stand Karzai, doesn't believe in his own strategy and doesn't consider the war to be his," Gates writes, according to The New York Times.
"For him, it's all about getting out," he writes.
The White House immediately disagreed with the assessment of the former defence secretary.
"The President disagrees with Secretary Gates' assessment - from his leadership on the Balkans in the Senate, to his efforts to end the war in Iraq, Biden has been one of the leading statesmen of his time, and has helped advance America's leadership in the world. President Obama relies on his good counsel every day," said Caitlin Hayden, spokesperson of the National Security Council.
"The President deeply appreciates Bob Gates' service as Secretary of Defence, and his lifetime of service to our country," she said.
"Deliberations over our policy on Afghanistan have been widely reported on over the years, and it is well known that the President has been committed to achieving the mission of disrupting, dismantling and defeating al Qaeda, while also ensuring that we have a clear plan for winding down the war, which will end this year," Hayden said.
"As has always been the case, the President welcomes differences of view among his national security team, which broaden his options and enhance our policies. The President wishes Secretary Gates well as he recovers from his recent injury, and discusses his book," she said after excerpts of the book were released by The New York Times.
The book hits the stores next week.
According to the book, Gates initially opposed sending Special Operations forces to attack a housing compound in Pakistan where Osama bin Laden, the mastermind of the September 11 attacks, was believed to be hiding.
Gates writes that Obama's approval for the Navy SEAL mission, despite strong doubts that bin Laden even was there, was "one of the most courageous decisions I had ever witnessed in the White House."
According to the daily, Gates calls Biden "a man of integrity", but he questions the vice president's judgement.
"I think he has been wrong on nearly every major foreign policy and national security issue over the past four decades," Gates writes according to the excerpts.
