Three other former Guiding Coalition members also selected to serve in Obama Administration

WASHINGTON, D.C.– The Project on National Security Reform (PNSR) today congratulates former Guiding Coalition member James B. Steinberg on his confirmation as Deputy Secretary of State.

Steinberg, who served as a deputy national security advisor to President Bill Clinton, had most recently served as dean of the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas. He is the fourth member of PNSR’s Guiding Coalition to be selected to serve on President Barack Obama’s national security team.

PNSR also praises the earlier selections of General James L. Jones as National Security Advisor, Admiral Dennis C. Blair for Director of National Intelligence and Michèle Flournoy to be Under Secretary of Defense for Policy.
In response to Steinberg’s confirmation, PNSR Executive Director James R. Locher III issued the following statement:

“Jim Steinberg possesses incredible policy formulation skills. To the Project on National Security Reform, he brought his vast experience and expertise from his time on Capitol Hill, his early service in the State Department, and his assignment as deputy national security adviser. Jim is well-versed in the foreign policy challenges of the 21st Century, the need for strengthening the State Department, and the urgent requirement to establish effective mechanisms for integrating the expertise and capabilities of all national security departments and agencies.”

In selecting General Jim Jones as National Security Adviser and Admiral Denny Blair as Director of National Intelligence, President-elect Barack Obama has added two highly capable, experienced leaders to his national security team. Jones and Blair distinguished themselves in challenging leadership assignments throughout their varied national security careers. They bring the right mixture of leadership, experience, and knowledge to confront the complex threats of the 21st Century.

“PNSR has recommended that the National Security Adviser position be transformed into a National Security Manager. The president needs a principal national security assistant who is much more than just an adviser. The top assistant must help produce unity of purpose and unity of effort and ensure that the national security system is decisive, agile, and fast. General Jones would excel in this new role.

“Admiral Blair is extremely well prepared to lead the intelligence community. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence is still under development, and Denny Blair understands the organizational changes that are required. As his career has demonstrated, he has the leadership skills to bring about these changes and integrate the expertise and capabilities of the sixteen intelligence components.

“Michèle Flournoy is an outstanding selection for the Defense Department where she had previously served as deputy assistant secretary of defense for strategy and threat reduction. She is well-grounded and highly effective in policy formulation and implementation, and represents another superb selection by the incoming administration.

“The other members of the Guiding Coalition and the entire PNSR community congratulate Jim Jones, Denny Blair, Jim Steinberg and Michèle Flournoy on their selections for these important positions.”