'He was right'
CABINET | Obama introduces Shinseki as VA chief, praises his warnings about Iraq war
The very man rejected by the Bush administration for warning that Iraq would be no cakewalk is President-elect Barack Obama's choice to be Veterans Affairs secretary.
Eric Shinseki, 66, was Army chief of staff when months before the Iraq war was launched, he warned that several hundred thousand troops would be needed -- more than the Bush administration planned.
(AP)
He also warned that ethnic rivalries would break out and that American troops would face a long, difficult clean-up afterward. Bush administration officials repudiated Shinseki's remarks.
But on Sunday, Obama said, "He was right."
Shinseki was chosen over Illinois Veterans Affairs Director Tammy Duckworth, another Asian-American veteran injured in the line of duty.
Speculation was rampant when Obama, just a few days after his election, appeared with Duckworth in Chicago to lay a wreath honoring veterans.
Shinseki, like Obama, is a native of Hawaii. Obama made his announcement about Shinseki on the 67th anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
Shinseki's ancestry is Japanese and he was the highest-ranking Asian American in the armed forces.
"A graduate of West Point, General Shinseki served two combat tours in Vietnam, where he lost part of his foot, and was awarded two Purple Hearts and three Bronze Stars," Obama said, introducing him at a news conference at the Hilton Chicago.
"Even as we stand here today, there are veterans who have worried about keeping their health care or even their homes, paying their bills or finding a good job when they leave the service," Shinseki said, promising to run a "21st century VA."
Obama was asked about reports of rising gun sales amid fears he will crack down on guns.
"I believe in common-sense gun safety laws and I believe in the Second Amendment," Obama said. "Lawful gun owners have nothing to fear."