Obama Announces National Security Team

Behind each and every one of those millions of jobs loss, there are workers and families who are counting on us as they struggle to pay the bills or stay in their homes. There are American dreams that are being deferred and that are being denied because of the current economic climate. There is a devastating economic crisis that will become more come more difficult to contain with time.

For the sake of our economy and our people, this is the moment to act and to act without delay.

Now, I'd like to say a few words about today's appointments. Over the past few weeks, Vice President-elect Biden and I have been working with our national security appointees so that we're ready to hit the ground running on January 20th. Today, I'm pleased to complete our team by announcing my choices to lead the intelligence community and the CIA.

It's hard to overstate the importance of good intelligence in the 21st century. When much of our intelligence community was founded, it was focus odd one overarching threat: the Soviet Union. Today, we face a world of unconventional challenges from the spread of stateless terrorist networks and weapons of mass destruction to the grave dangers posed by failed states and rogue regimes. As we learned on 9/11, we are not protected by the distance of an ocean or the ability to deter an enemy. There is no margin for error. To keep our people safe, we must seamlessly collect, analyze, share, and act on information with a sense of urgency. This requires the selfless services of countless patriots and the skillful management of our 16 intelligence agencies.

Good intelligence is not a luxury, it is a necessity. The men and women of the intelligence community have been on the front lines in this world of new and evolving dangers. They have served in the shadows, saved American lives, advanced our interests, and earned the respect of a grateful nation. There have been sound reforms and many successes built over the last several years.

But here in Washington, we've also learned some tough lessons. We've learned that to make pragmatic policy choices, we must insist on assessments grounded solely on the facts and not seek information to suit any ideological agenda. So support those who carry out our intelligence mission, we must give them the resources they need and the clear guidance they deserve.