In transition news, President-elect Barack Obama has chosen retired Gen. Eric Shinseki to be secretary of the Veterans Affairs Department. Shinseki made headlines in February 2003 when he testified before Congress that the US would need several hundred thousand soldiers to stabilize Iraq after the invasion. At the time, Shinseki was Army chief of staff. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and other high-ranking Pentagon officials publicly rebuked him, while insisting that Iraqis would welcome the Americans as liberators.

General Eric Shinseki: “A word to my fellow veterans: if confirmed, I will work each and every day to ensure that we are serving you as well as you have served us. We will pursue a twenty-first century VA that serves your needs. We will open doors, new doors of opportunity, so you can find a job, support your families when you return to civilian life.”

If confirmed by Congress, Shinseki would become the first Asian American to head the Veterans Affairs Department. Shinseki, who is of Japanese descent, was the first Asian American to be a four-star general and the first to head one of the branches of the US military.