US President-elect Barack Obama nominated Hillary Clinton as the Secretary of State and kept Robert Gates as Defence Secretary. While explaining the reason of nominating Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama said that his administration finds her to be the best candidate for US diplomacy. According to him, Hillary Clinton has enough confidence and will command respect in every capital. Commenting on her appointment, Hillary Clinton assured to give all her efforts to execute the assignments given to her.

 

During his speech, Obama stressed the importance of US diplomacy and stated that time has come for American leadership to overcome the challenges of the 21st century. Former NATO commander and marine general James Jones has also been inducted as Obama's national security advisor. The new team will begin its operation in January which is likely to get US troops home from Iraq, deal with Iran's nuclear drive, and mitigate deteriorating conditions in the Afghan war.

 

Although France and the European Union hailed Clinton's nomination, but Russia struck a pessimistic note. Barack Obama gave Defence Secretary Robert Gates the mission of ending the war in Iraq. After completing the Iraq mission, Gates and US military will be given a new mission, said the US President. Obama also named Arizona governor Janet Napolitano as Homeland Security chief. The Obama administration has appointed Susan Rice as foreign policy advisor while former justice department official Eric Holder gets the office of Attorney General.