Obama announces his security / foreign policy team

President Elect Obama announced his national security and foreign policy team this morning which includes Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State, Acting Defense Secretary Gates who will stay in his current position at Defense, Janet Napolitano as Secretary of Homeland Security, Eric Holder as US Attorney General, Susan Rice as UN Representative. and General James Jones as National Security Advisor.

Clinton is one of the most intriguing choices for a major player in decades, and promises at the very least to be one of the most prominent international representatives of the USA in some time. Although it's unlike we'll see Bill Clinton at her side during international trips, his Presidential status and extraordinary number of prominent contacts throughout the world is likely to give Hillary Clinton unprecedented levels of access and potential acceptance on the international stage.

Obama inherits some of the nation's greatest challenges both on the economic and foreign policy fronts and it will be interesting to see how well his approach can work by essentially placing a Clinton style cabinet at his side.

Napolitano to become Secretary of Homeland Security in Obama Administration

Janet Napolitano to be Secretary of Homeland Security

President Elect Obama will name Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano as the new secretary of Homeland Security, a key cabinet post that determines - in conjunction with other posts - how the USA allocates and strategizes for defenses against global terrorism.

Obama's cabinet nominees appear to signal a moderate Presidential approach where very seasoned and experienced former players in the Clinton administration will work with several new faces and a small number of transitional figures from the GW Bush administration to align US policy with Obama's stated objectives in the election - restoring international respect for the USA while sending a clear signal to potential adversaries that the US will not continue to attack those who seek to undermine the international status quo in violent ways.

Unfortunately it appears that attacks like those in India this week may escalate as terrorists and their supporters realign their own strategies - feeling out how the new administration will deal with the ongoing violence.