Obama confirms Clinton and Gates appointments
Hillary Clinton won support for backing Barack Obama. Image licensed under Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License
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Monday, 01, Dec 2008 04:22
United States president-elect Barack Obama has confirmed Hillary Clinton as his secretary of state and Robert Gates as his Pentagon chief.
The move ends weeks of speculation about the former first lady's future as she takes on a senior role within the Obama administration.
With today's announcement of Mr Obama's entire national security team, Mr Gates will stay on as secretary of defence, a post he currently fills under the administration of George Bush.
Mr Obama beat Mrs Clinton to the Democratic party's nomination to take on Republican rival John McCain in the race for the White House.
After his comprehensive victory he has surprised many pundits by appearing to go against his rhetoric of 'change' when it comes to Washington politics.
The rest of his national security team, also announced during a Chicago press conference, reflects his commitment to hiring based on experience in Washington.
Mr Gates is to be left in charge for at least another year, while former general James Jones will be national security adviser.
Susan Rice has been nominated as the US' permanent representative to the United Nations, Janet Napolitano – currently governor of Arizona – was named as Mr Obama's pick for homeland security secretary and Eric Holder was proposed as attorney general.
"The challenges abroad are just as grave and urgent as the economic crisis," Mr Obama said. "We are fighting two wars; old conflicts remain unresolved and newly-asserted powers are putting strain on the world.
"America must be strong at home to be strong abroad," Mr Obama continued before hailing his national security team.
"These men and women represent all of these elements of American power and all the best of the American example... they share my pragmatism and sense of purpose [about US military and diplomacy].
Introducing Mrs Clinton, Mr Obama described the New York senator as a "friend and colleague, a source of counsel and a tough campaigner".
Taking to the podium, Mrs Clinton said America could not resolves international crises without the world, and the world cannot work them out without America.
"The American people have demanded not just a new direction at home but a new effort to renew American's standing in the world as a force for positive change," she added.