Obama’s National Security Team :”A New Dawn” for the World

Hillary Clinton, Robert Gates, James Jones: American national security heavyweights. Barack Obama boasts a “pragmatic” team.

Is the United States national security in the hands of a team of “rivals”? Those are the terms chosen by certain political analysts to describe President-Elect Barack Obama’s choice for guaranteeing the security of the United States, at home and abroad. But for the White House’s tenant-to-be, this eclectic team is the best qualified to represent “a new beginning”, “a new dawn of American leadership to overcome the challenges of the 21st century.”

While introducing his team members on Monday during a press conference in Chicago, Obama outlined a new strategy for national security that “employs and integrates all the elements of American power and finds the balance between military force and diplomacy, intelligence services and justice, economical power and moral example.”

“Finish the war in Iraq”

Who will represent The United States’ security, order and diplomacy during the next administration? Two of them are well-known figures. Obama confirmed his choice for Hillary Clinton to take office as Secretary of State, as well as George Bush’s Defense Secretary Robert Gates’ re-appointment for at least one year, .

By re-electing Gates, a former CIA director who, at the end of 2006, followed the very controversial Donald Rumsfeld, Obama keeps his electoral campaign promise to have Repulicans in his office. But, according to experts, it is also a choice for continuity, especially since the Defense Secretary thinks, as does the elected President, that the war on terror should be fought in Afghanistan and not Iraq.

“Robert Gates has done an extraordinary job,” said Brookings Institute researcher Pietro Nivola. “He is not a partisan personality and he is the keeper of a necessary continuity in elaborating a plan for Central Asia.”

Obama declared that he’ll give Gates the mission of “responsibly ending the war in Iraq” by transferring the control progressively to the Iraqis, and by focusing his attention on Afghanistan, the place where the war on terror began, and where it should end. On Monday, the President-Elect didn’t restate his objective to withdraw American troops from Iraq in 16 months.

Before giving the floor to Clinton, Obama introduced her as a “dear friend” and “an American of tremendous stature.” Asked about his choice, Obama declared that he had always admired his former Democrat adversary a lot.

“She possesses an extraordinary intelligence and a remarkable work ethic,” Obama said. “I am proud that she will be our next secretary of state.”

James Jones, the middleman

The new commander-in-chief gave James Jones, the retired American general, a key position. As the next national security adviser, he will be, inside the Whie House, the middleman between the Defense Secretary and the President, and will help the latter to navigate between the Pentagon and Foggy Bottom, America’s department of State.

With his imposing stature, Jones is a former commanding officer of NATO in Europe and has also been recently appointed special emissary for Middle East security by Condoleezza Rice. He is appreciated for his experience and his fine military and political mind.

Obama also announced the nomination of Arizona’s governor, Janet Napolitano, for Homeland Security, Eric Holder for the Department of Justice, and Susan Rice, a former Obama foreign policy advisor, for ambassador to the U.N.