Though much of today's White House briefing focused on the late announcement that President Obama will travel to Copenhagen to pitch Chicago's Olympic bid, Robert Gibbs addressed two major issues related to what was once called the "Global War on Terrorism." In both cases -- the planned closure of the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay and new policy on Afghanistan -- the White House is holding off on key decisions.

Gibbs repeatedly used the word "deliberate" or some variation thereof in describing the president's mindset on Afghanistan after receiving an assessment from the top commander there. As some call for a stronger stand now, the spokesman played off what he implied were impulsive decisions made in the previous administration.

"We have seen the movie before, where you put a bunch of resources in a place and then you decide your strategy," he said. "I don't think the output that we've seen in those decisions has all together been good for this country or for our military. Instead, I think the president wants to evaluate and assess where we are, what's changed in the past few months, what's needed and necessary as part of this strategy going forward, and then eventually we'll have a discussion about whether or not the resources that are there are adequate to the task of that strategy."

On Guantanamo Bay, Gibbs essentially conceded that the White House would not be meeting its self-imposed deadline for closing the detention facility.