US President-elect Barack Obama will announce his national security team,
including Hillary Clinton as secretary of state, at an event this morning, US
media and Democratic sources said yesterday.
The announcement will be made at a press conference in Chicago, Illinois,
around 10:40 am eastern time (1540 GMT) of today.
Obama is also expected to finally confirm that he is keeping Defense
Secretary Robert Gates in his current post.
He plans to name retired Marine Gen. Jim Jones as his national security
adviser at the White House.
Two sources close to the president-elect's team said Obama will also nominate
Susan Rice as United Nations ambassador, Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano as
homeland security secretary, and Eric Holder as attorney general.
Retiring Republican John Warner, a veteran member of the Senate Armed
Services Committee, released a statement Saturday night praising Obama's planned
announcement.
"The triumvirate of Gates, Clinton and Jones to lead Obama's 'national
security team' instills great confidence at home and abroad; and, further
strengthens the growing respect for the president-elect's courage and ability to
exercise sound judgment in selecting the 'best and the brightest' to implement
our nation's security policies," Warner said.
