U.S. President Barack Obama has announced his choices for several key foreign policy positions, including ambassadors to Afghanistan and Iraq.
Mr. Obama says he intends to nominate career military officer Lieutenant General Karl Eikenberry as ambassador to Afghanistan. Eikenberry has served as the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan and currently is deputy chairman of the NATO Military Committee in Brussels.
The president's choice for ambassador to Iraq is Christopher Hill, the current assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs. Hill is a career foreign service officer and has been the chief U.S. envoy in the six-party talks to end North Korea's nuclear program.
Mr. Obama has also tapped foreign policy expert Ivo Daalder for ambassador to NATO, and foreign service officer Alexander Vershbow as assistant secretary of defense for international security affairs.
In a statement, the president said he is confident his nominees will work with "a sense of purpose and pragmatism" and advance U.S. values and interests around the world.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP and AP.
