Janet Napolitano

The Times has a front page piece today on a very welcome move by DHS to begin turning our shameful immigration detention system into one more in line with traditional American concepts of justice:

The Obama administration intends to announce an ambitious plan on Thursday to overhaul the much-criticized way the nation detains immigration violators, trying to transform it from a patchwork of jail and prison cells to what its new chief called a “truly civil detention system.”

Details are sketchy, and even the first steps will take months or years to complete. They include reviewing the federal government’s contracts with more than 350 local jails and private prisons, with an eye toward consolidating many detainees in places more suitable for noncriminals facing deportation — some possibly in centers built and run by the government.

The plan aims to establish more centralized authority over the system, which holds about 400,000 immigration detainees over the course of a year, and more direct oversight of detention centers that have come under fire for mistreatment of detainees and substandard — sometimes fatal — medical care.

You can find the full story here.

Of necessity, President-elect Barack Obama's first act after November 4 was to address economic security. He has assembled his team and plans are moving forward.

In Chicago tomorrow, Obama is expected to name his national security team. The terrorist attacks in Mumbai have given this announcement added signifigance and necessity. We've all heard that U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton is expected to be named Secretary of State, but who are the others?

According to ABC News, Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano will be Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security; attorney Eric Holder, Attorney General; Retired Marine General Jim Jones, National Security Adviser; retired Adm. Dennis Blair, Director of National Intelligence; Susan Rice, Ambassador to the United Nations; and Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who will stay on in that role for at least a year.  

Napolitano has an excellent reputation as governor of Arizona and understands the critical issue of and need for comprehensive immigration reform, a top priority for NDN. She also no doubt understands the critical importance of U.S. relations with countries in central and south America.

Holder served in the Clinton Administration's Justice Department, helped vet Obama's vice presidential pick and will be the nation's first African-American attroney general.

The New York Times has an intriguing profile of Obama's alleged pick for national security adviser, retired Marine General Jim Jones.

The Washington Post also has an in-depth report on Obama's first meeting with Adm. Michael Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who met with Obama in Chicago some nine days ago.

According to the article, many in the military traditionally do not trust Democrats or "intellectuals," as some might call Obama.

Although exit polls did not break out active-duty voters, it is virtually certain that McCain won the military vote.

In an October survey by the Military Times, nearly 70 percent of more than 4,000 officers and enlisted respondents said they favored McCain, while about 23 percent preferred Obama. Only African American service members gave Obama a majority.

In exit polls, those who said they had "ever served in the U.S. military" made up 15 percent of voters and broke 54 percent for McCain to 44 percent for Obama. "As a culture, we are more conservative and Republican," a senior officer said.

However, the article goes on to report that Obama's meetings so far have gone over well with a military. According to news reports, he has come across as disciplined, a person who will listen if not always act on the military's advice and a realist. Hillary Clinton also is popular at the Pentagon and Jones is a strong leader.

Although not technically considered "national security" appointments, make sure to check out Simon's essay on the importance of G-20 ambassadorial posts. In a world where it is no longer possible to separate the issues of terrorism from those of globalization, these are massively important picks.