By David Martosko, U.s. Political Editor PUBLISHED: 16:22 EST, 8 January 2014 | UPDATED: 10:33 EST, 9 January 2014 White House press secretary Jay Carney said he hadn't looked at his copy of 'Duty' by Robert Gates, but a staffer read the book overnight and sections were frantically distributed by morning inside the West Wing and elsewhere The Obama administration was blindsided' by bombshell accusations in a book by former secretary of defense Robert Gates, according to a White House staffer with knowledge of Tuesday's events in the White House. 'They're breaking it down and dividing it up in the West Wing,' the aide told MailOnline, describing a frantic scene. 'No one saw this coming.'
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Obama spokesman Jay Carney coyly told reporters that he hasn't 'had time to look at' Robert Gates' new book despite receiving a copy Tuesday night
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The National Security Council's spokeswoman acknowledges that the book 'was read by a member of the White House staff overnight'
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A White House aide says that by Wednesday morning it was broken down for staffers to read and vet
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'No one saw this coming,' the staffer said
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Gates wrote that Obama ordered troops to Afghanistan despite believing their mission would fail
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He also revealed that both Obama and Hillary Clinton opposed George W. Bush's Iraq surge for political reasons, not on the merits
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The White House has defended Joe Biden against Gates' claim that he is 'wrong on nearly every major foreign policy and national security issue'
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Obama held a rare photo call Wednesday with Biden, who is thought to be preparing his own White House run for 2016
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She declined to name the staffer, and said she would not go 'into further detail about ... how it was distributed within the @placeholder.'