-
Watch Video
-
Related
US President-elect Barack Obama named former rival Hillary
Clinton as secretary of state and said Robert Gates would remain
defense secretary in a national security team charged with
recasting America's leadership role in the world.
Clinton and Gates, who have been at odds with Obama in the past
over foreign policy and defense issues, will implement Obama's
vision of rebuilding the US image abroad while overseeing wars in
Iraq and Afghanistan.
Obama played down differences with the woman he narrowly beat for
the Democratic presidential nomination and said he would welcome
vigorous debate among his opinionated team.
"I assembled this team because I am a strong believer in strong
personalities and strong opinions. I think that's how the best
decisions are made," Obama said, calling the former first lady a
"dear friend."
"I will be responsible for the vision that this team carries out
and I expect them to implement that vision once decisions are
made," Obama added. "So as Harry Truman said, the buck will stop
with me."
On one of the biggest foreign policy issues his administration will
face, Obama repeated his belief that US troops could be out of Iraq
within 16 months of his taking office, though he said he would
consult advisers on that.
Clinton, standing next to her former opponent, said the United
States must rely on its friends to help confront threats like
global warming and terrorism - an implicit rebuke to the
go-it-alone approach of President George W. Bush.
"While we are determined to defend our freedoms and liberties at
all costs, we also reach out to the world again, seeking common
cause and higher ground," she said.
"By electing Barack Obama our next president, the American people
have demanded not just a new direction at home but a new effort to
renew America's standing in the world as a force for positive
change."
The New York senator said it would be hard for her to leave the US
Senate but believed taking over the nation's top diplomatic role
was the best way for her to serve the country.
Along with Clinton and Gates, Obama named retired Marine General
James Jones as national security adviser and Arizona Gov. Janet
Napolitano as head of the homeland security department.
He also named former Justice Department official Eric Holder as
attorney general and Susan Rice, a foreign policy adviser to his
presidential campaign, as UN ambassador, which he will make a
Cabinet-level position.
All the nominees are expected to win quick confirmation by the
Democratic-controlled Senate.
India resonates
The announcements have been given added emphasis by last week's
rampage in Mumbai, India, where gunmen killed nearly 200 people,
including at least five US citizens. India has blamed the attacks
on militants from Pakistan, which has denied any complicity with
the terror plot.
Obama said he had spoken to Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh
and offered American support. Obama said that while sovereign
nations "obviously have the right to defend themselves", he did not
want to comment on the specifics surrounding the Mumbai
attack.
Gates has said he wanted to leave at the end of Bush's last term
and it is unclear how long he plans to serve in Obama's
administration.
While he avoided direct criticism of Obama during the election
campaign, Gates has argued against setting timetables for a US
pullout from Iraq, saying it could jeopardize security gains made
over the past year.
But Democrats and Republicans both praised Gates since he took over
the Pentagon from Donald Rumsfeld in 2006 and he will provide
continuity as the United States fights two wars.
Obama clashed with Clinton during a bitter campaign for the
Democratic presidential nomination. Clinton famously ran an
advertisement depicting a 3am crisis call at the White House to
argue that Obama, a first-term Illinois senator, was not ready to
be commander-in-chief.
Clinton also tended to talk tougher, once saying she would
"obliterate" Iran if it attacked Israel. She criticized as "naive"
Obama's call for direct presidential-level engagement with foes
like Iran and North Korea.
Obama played down those differences on Monday, saying the two
shared a vision for US foreign policy and wouldn't have joined
forces if they didn't believe they could work together.
Clinton's husband, former President Bill Clinton, agreed to make
public the names of more than 200,000 donors to his foundation as
part of a deal with Obama to clear the way for his wife's
nomination and avoid any appearance of conflict of interest with
her duties as secretary of state.
World News Video
-
Dangerous rush to Everest summit (1:59)
-
Dozens killed in Syrian massacre (2:09)
-
'King of Romance' competes in Eurovision (1:46)
