U.S.President-elect Barack Obama (L)
introduces retired General Eric K. Shinseki as nominee for Veterans
Affairs secretary during a news conference in Chicago, December 7, 2008.
(Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo
Gallery>>>
WASHINGTON, Dec. 7 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President-elect
Barack Obama nominated retired Gen. Eric Shinseki as the next secretary of
veterans affairs.
Obama made the official nomination at a press
conference in his transition office headquarters in Chicago, Illinois, which
made Shinseki, who has Japanese ancestry, the first Asian American to lead the
second biggest department in the country.
"I think that Gen. Shinseki is exactly the right
person who is going to be able to make sure that we honor our troops when they
come home," Obama said in an interview with NBC TV earlier the day.
"He has agreed that he is willing to be part of this
administration because both he and I share a reverence for those who serve," he
said of the 66-year-old four-star general.
Born in Hawaii to a Japanese American family,
Shinseki graduated from the West Point Military Academy in 1965 and has served
in a variety of command and staff assignments both at home and abroad.
He served as the Army Chief of Staff from 1999 to
2003, which was featured by his constant tensions with the then defense
secretary, Donald Rumsfeld.
At a congressional hearing in 2003, Shinseki said
that it might take several hundred thousand U.S. troops to control Iraq after
the invasion, which, however, was dismissed by Rumsfeld as "wildly off the
mark."
However, he has been cited by many retired Army
officers and media as an example of Rumsfeld's disregard for military advice and
treatment of senior officers.
U.S.President-elect Barack Obama (L)
introduces retired General Eric K. Shinseki as nominee for Veterans
Affairs secretary during a news conference in Chicago, December 7, 2008.
(Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>>
Obama told media that he selected Shinseki for the VA
post because he "was right" in predicting that the U.S. will need more troops in
Iraq than Rumsfeld believed at the time.
"When I reflect on the sacrifices that have been made
by our veterans and I think about how so many veterans around the country are
struggling even more than those who have not served -- higher unemployment
rates, higher homeless rates, higher substance abuse rates, medical care that is
inadequate -- it breaks my heart," he said.
His nomination was welcomed by veteran groups and
lawmakers even before it was officially announced.
"I have great respect for General Shinseki's judgment
and abilities," said Akaka, chairman of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee,
in a statement.
"I am confident that he will use his wisdom and
experience to ensure that our veterans receive the respect and care they have
earned in defense of our nation. President-elect Obama is selecting a team that
reflects our nation's greatest strength, its diversity, and I applaud him."
Paul Rieckhoff, executive director of the Iraq and
Afghanistan Veterans of America, also told U.S. media that Shinseki is a man
"that has always put patriotism ahead of politics, and is held in high regard by
veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan."
U.S.President-elect Barack Obama (R) listens as retired General Eric K. Shinsek speaks during a news conference in Chicago December 7, 2008. (Xinhua/AFP Photo) Photo Gallery>>>
WASHINGTON, Dec. 5 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President-elect Barack
Obama has nominated more White House staff, including his chief economic policy
adviser, his transition office said on Friday.
Jared Bernstein, a senior economist at the liberal
Economic Policy Institute, was named as Obama's chief economic policy adviser, a
newly-created post, as the country is facing the worst economic crisis since
1930s. Full story
President-elect Barack Obama takes
questions from reporters during a news conference in Chicago, Monday, Dec.
1, 2008, with, from left to right: Attorney General-designate Eric Holder;
Homeland Security Secretary-designate Janet Napolitano; Defense Secretary
Robert Gates; Vice President-elect Joe Biden; Secretary of State-designate
Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y.; National Security Adviser-designate
Ret. Marine Gen. James Jones; and United Nations Ambassador-designate
Susan Rice. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo
Gallery>>>
WASHINGTON, Dec. 1 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President-elect Barack
Obama announced on Monday his national security team, including former first
lady Hillary Rodham Clinton as secretary of state and incumbent Defense
Secretary Robert Gates, who would retain his post.
"America must be strong at home and abroad," Obama
told a news conference in his transition office headquarters in Chicago,
Illinois, drawing a full stop to a month-long speculations on his cabinet
members. Full story
U.S. President-elect Barack Obama is
flanked by Council of Economic Advisors Director-designate Christina
Romer(L), National Economic Council Director-designate Lawrence Summers
(R) as he announces the members of his economic policy team during a news
conference in Chicago, November 24, 2008.(Xinhua/Reuters
Photo) Photo
Gallery>>>
WASHINGTON, Nov. 24 (Xinhua) --
With the economy in crisis, U.S. President-elect Barack Obama Monday unveiled
his economic team pick to shore up financial markets and tackle the worst
financial crisis since the Great Depression in 1930s. Full story
WASHINGTON, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President-elect Barack Obama
will have nearly named his entire cabinet by Christmas, a top Obama aide said
Friday.
John Podesta, a co-chair of the
Obama transition team, told Bloomberg News that "virtually the whole cabinet"
would be in place by the end of the year.
Earlier this week, Obama announced his nomination of New York Fed chairman
Timothy Geithner to be treasury secretary. Full
story
