Barack Obama Announces National Security Team

No surprises here. President-elect Barack Obama announced early this morning that Robert Gates would remain as defense secretary, making President Bush’s Pentagon chief his own as he seeks to wind down the U.S. role in Iraq.

Obama also, as anticipated, picked former Democrat and campaign rival Hillary Clinton as his choice for secretary of state.

From the Associated Press:

At a news conference, Obama also introduced retired Marine Gen. James Jones as White House national security adviser, former Justice Department official Eric Holder as attorney general and Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano as secretary of homeland security.

The announcements rounded out the top tier of the team that will advise the incoming chief executive on foreign and national security issues in an era marked by wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and terrorism around the globe.

“The time has come for a new beginning, a new dawn of American leadership to overcome the challenges of the 21st century,” Obama said as his Cabinet picks stood behind him on a flag-draped stage.

“We will strengthen our capacity to defeat our enemies and support our friends. We will renew old alliances and forge new and enduring partnerships.”

Obama said his appointees “share my pragmatism about the use of power, and my sense of purpose about America’s role as a leader in the world.”

Gates’ presence in Chicago made him a visible symbol of the transition in power from the Bush administration to one headed by Obama.

The president-elect, reprising a campaign vow, said he would give the military a new mission as soon as he takes office: “responsibly ending the war in Iraq through a successful transition to Iraqi control.” He did not mention his oft-repeated pledge to withdraw most U.S. combat troops within 16 months.

He also appointed campaign foreign policy aide Susan Rice as his ambassador to the United Nations. Obama said he would make her a member of the Cabinet, an increase in stature from the Bush era.

Obama’s announcements marked a shift in emphasis, after a spate of appointments last week for his economic team.

James Jones to Be Named National Security Advisor

James Jones is expected to be announced by Barack Obama next week as part of the president-elect’s national security team, along with Robert Gates as secretary of defense and Hillary Rodham Clinton as secretary of state.

From Time:

A year ago it would have seemed all but impossible. Barack Obama, the Democratic candidate with the earliest and most outspoken record of opposition to the war in Iraq, wouldn’t name the man who led the Marines during the run-up to the war — and failed to publicly criticize the operation’s flawed planning — as his closest national security aide.

But he has. And it’s a testament to both Obama’s needs as a young and untested Commander-in-Chief and the political abilities of Gen. James Jones, Marine Corps commandant from July 1999 through January 2003, that Jones will fill one of the most powerful positions in America, National Security Advisor. At first glance, Jones doesn’t make a ton of sense as the man to help Obama through his now-familiar litany of challenges: two wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, a global anti-terror campaign, Iran’s pursuit of nuclear weapons, rising India-Pakistan tensions and a moribund Middle East peace process. Add to that list a new, self-created challenge: the selection of Hillary Clinton and Robert Gates — two smart, strong and politically opposed people — to head the traditionally antagonistic State and Defense Departments.

Obama doesn’t really know Jones. Back in October, then-candidate Obama said he’d valued Jones advice, but in fact, he’d only spoken with him twice at that point, and Jones was never in his close circle of advisors during the primaries or general election. Jones’ political affiliation is not clear, though he has never been called a Democrat, and his lack of public complaint during the planning for the war drew criticism, despite later reports that he had argued with Donald Rumsfeld and then-Joint Chiefs Chairman Peter Pace. But those who know Jones say his strengths vastly outweigh his perceived weaknesses. In Jones, Obama gets someone with instant and deep understanding of military plans and details. He gets a 6’5″ Marine Corps veteran at his side who has firsthand experience of combat theaters from Vietnam to Bosnia and who earned Defense Distinguished Service Medal, a Silver Star and a Bronze Star with “V” for valor. While the uniformed military will follow the orders of the Commander-in-Chief no matter what, the public is more likely to support them when they’re being enforced by a decorated veteran with a long career on the battlefield.