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Obama Picks Shinseki to Lead Veterans Affairs
President-elect Barack Obama today will introduce retired Army Gen. Eric K. Shinseki as his nominee to head the Department of Veterans Affairs, bringing to his Cabinet a career military officer best known for running afoul of the Bush administration by questioning the Pentagon's Iraq war strategy.Shinseki, a four-star general and 38-year veteran who retired shortly after the fall of Baghdad in 2003, will appear with Obama in Chicago at a news conference today commemorating the 67th anniversary of the Japanese attacks on Pearl Harbor. Obama said Shinseki agreed to join the incoming administration because "both he and I share a reverence for those who serve." Military leaders and veterans advocates hailed Obama's selection of Shinseki, describing the nominee as a soft-spoken, dynamic leader who is widely respected by rank-and-file service members past and present. Retired Army Gen. Colin L. Powell, who was President Bush's secretary of state at the time of the Iraq invasion, called Shinseki "a superb choice. . . . He is a wounded hero who survived and worked his way to the top. He knows soldiers and knows what it takes to keep faith with the men and women who went forth to serve the nation. He also knows how to run large and complex bureaucratic institutions. His is an inspired selection." Powell, also a former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, supported Obama's election. Shinseki, 66, was twice awarded a Purple Heart for injuries sustained in Vietnam. Kori Schake, a fellow at the conservative Hoover Institution who served on Bush's National Security Council during the run-up to the war, said Shinseki is "a great choice. . . . Shinseki will be a terrific advocate for and leader of our Veterans Administration. He distinguished himself in caring for wounded warriors while chief of staff, and I'm certain he will serve veterans and the country well." Posted by: Steve White 2008-12-07 |
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