Kerry tipped as Clinton successor

KABUL): President Barack Obama has decided to pick Senator John Kerry to succeed Hillary Clinton as US secretary of state, independent American media reports said on Sunday.

Currently heading the influential Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Kerry chances for the top slot dramatically increased after US Ambassador to United Nations Susan Rice pulled out of the race.

With the White House yet to comment on who will replace Clinton, CNN quoted a Democratic source as saying that Obama had chosen Kerry — who narrowly lost the 2004 presidential contest — as his secretary of state.

With Clinton expected to retire toward the end of January, Kerry’s formal nomination for the post was expected mid-week, another source told the Reuters news agency.

A senior senator from Massachusetts, the 69-year-old lawmaker has played a key role in mending America’s relationships with Afghanistan.

Following the 2008 reelection of President Hamid Karzai, the veteran US legislators used his diplomatic skills to rebuild Washington’s ties to Kabul.

Once again, he helped the Obama administration in repairing its relations with Pakistan in the wake of the Abbottabad operation that killed Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.

According to ABC News, the formal announcement is being delayed due to finalisation of the process, other pending cabinet decisions and, more immediately, the national reaction to the deadly shooting at the Sandy Hook Elementary School.

PAN Monitor/mud

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