Praise for Obama's national security team

The reaction to President-elect Barack Obama's national security team is coming fast and furious.

Former President Bill Clinton issued a statement: "As an American, I am thankful that President-elect Barack Obama has asked Hillary to be Secretary of State and that she has accepted. As her husband, I am deeply proud.

"She is the right person for the job of helping to restore America's image abroad, end the war in Iraq, advance peace and increase our security, by building a future for our children with more partners and fewer adversaries, one of shared responsibilities and opportunities. She has already earned the respect of foreign leaders and diplomats through her work to promote human rights and the empowerment of women through access to education, healthcare and economic opportunity. And Americans know, from her leadership in the Senate on national security, that she will always put the security, values and the interests of our people first.

"In her service to the people of New York and our nation, Hillary has demonstrated the knowledge, passion, resilience, and capacity to learn that our country needs at this critical time. She loves being a Senator from New York, but as she has in all the thirty-seven years I've known her, she answered the call to serve. I commend President-Elect Obama for asking her to be a part of a great national security team. America will be well-served."

Senator John F. Kerry of Massachusetts, who will become chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said in a statement: “President-Elect Obama has chosen a terrific national security team to protect our security and help restore America’s rightful place in the world. General Jones and Governor Napolitano are bright, strategic thinkers dedicated to the security of the nation. Eric Holder will lend integrity and experience to the Justice Department. Secretary Gates brings not just institutional knowledge but a keen understanding of the global challenge we face, Susan Rice is a sharp, trusted foreign policy mind who will bring an incredible ability and energy to the United Nations, and as Secretary of State, my friend and colleague Hillary Clinton will bring her years of experience and her remarkable intellect to the effort to restore our alliances and advance the President’s agenda in the world. As the incoming Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, I look forward to working with my distinguished colleague Sen. Richard Lugar to ensure a swift and fair confirmation process and working closely with the new Administration.”

Ellen R. Malcolm, president of EMILY’s List, a political action committee that finances female candidates who support abortion rights, issued this statement: “EMILY’s List and our members strongly commend President-elect Obama’s nominations of these exceptional women to top posts on his national security team. Senator Hillary Clinton’s long history of public service, foreign diplomacy, and her tenure on the Senate Armed Services Committee make her an exceptional choice for Secretary of State. Senator Clinton and President-elect Obama will work together to mend America’s image and strengthen our alliances abroad. s Governor and the former U.S. Attorney and first female Attorney General for Arizona, Janet Napolitano has already experienced some of the immigration and border security challenges that she’ll face as secretary of homeland security. Her common sense approach to public policy and governing will continue to serve America well. EMILY’s List and its members celebrate the nominations of Senator Clinton and Governor Napolitano, along with Dr. Susan Rice, who will serve as the next Ambassador to the United Nations. President-elect Obama deserves much credit for his strong choices to lead these critical departments and for his commitment to adding great women to his administration.”

The liberal-leaning National Security Network issued this statement: "Today, President-elect Obama introduced an impressive national security team that includes independents, Republicans and Democrats. This diverse team shares commitment to the President-elect's foreign policy principles, and to the agenda first laid out by President-Elect Obama and progressives during the campaign. This agenda is now widely supported by civilian and military experts. There is broad agreement in the military, the intelligence community and among pragmatists and progressives on the need to redeploy our forces out of Iraq and refocus on Afghanistan and Pakistan. There is also consensus for a diplomatic strategy to engage Iran. Moreover, when five former secretaries of state, both Democrats and Republicans, were asked what they viewed as America's central priority they all agreed on the need to rebuild our alliances and image and retake our place as a respected leader in the international community. If confirmed, Obama's team will empower the United States to move beyond the failures of the past eight years and restore the centrality of diplomacy and the rule of law to the way America engages the world."

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's office issued a statement on his behalf congratulating Clinton: "Sen. Clinton is a friend of the State of Israel and the Jewish People and I am sure that – in her new position – she will; continue to advance the special Israel-US relationship."

France's foreign minister, Bernard Kouchner, also issued a statement congratulating Clinton: "I would like to send Hillary Clinton my warmest and most cordial congratulations on having been proposed for the position of Secretary of State by President-elect Barack Obama. I have often had the opportunity to appreciate her abilities, her convictions and her human qualities, which will find their full expression in the eminent responsibilities entrusted to her.

"I will be happy to work with Hillary Clinton, as soon as she officially assumes her duties, to strengthen the French-American friendship. Our cooperation must indeed be intensified in the coming months: The challenges we have to deal with must be based, now more than ever, on our nations’ shared values, principles and objectives. France and the United States must continue working together to defend freedom and human dignity, promote peace and security, and combat intolerance.

"France and the European Union are prepared to work closely with Hillary Clinton within the framework of a renewed transatlantic partnership. Together we must seize this historic opportunity to join forces in order to confront the economic, climate and security challenges that are facing us all. Together we can better assume our international responsibilities and find crucial solutions. That is the significance of the work conducted by the French Presidency of the European Union Council during the informal meetings of the foreign ministers, held in Avignon and Marseille. That is what I will reaffirm to the future Secretary of State at our very first meeting."