Obama prepares to announce key White House posts

US President-elect Barack Obama is poised to name his national security team, with both friends and foes expected to take up the crucial White House posts.

Ex rival for the Democrat presidential nomination Hillary Clinton is hot favourite to become Obama’s new Secretary of State.

Former President Bill Clinton is believed to have agreed to make public thousands of donors to his foundation to avoid any conflicts of interest, clearing the way for his wife to take up the top diplomatic post.

For some Democrats the dream ticket, but Obama and Clinton will have plenty on their foreign policy plate, with wars in both Afghanistan and Iraq still on-going.

In another surprise move, current Republican Defence Secretary Robert Gates, seen here visiting troops in Afghanistan, is also tipped to keep his job, if senior democrat sources are to be believed.

Obama is also thought to be lining up retired Marine General James Jones as his new White House national security adviser and Susan Rice as ambassador to the UN.

Named at record speed, the new foreign affairs team will face a raft of challenges, one of which will be to rebuild American’s image abroad after eight years of President Bush.