CHICAGO -Barack Obama announced a national security team Monday headed by Hillary Rodham Clinton, who fought him long and bitterly for the presidency, and Robert Gates, the man who has been running two wars for George W. Bush — striking choices by a president-elect who declared he wanted "strong personalities and strong opinions."

While the team may be a bit more centrist — some war opponents might even say hawkish — that many Obama supporters might prefer, he said he still thinks 16 months is "the right time frame" for pulling most U.S. combat troops from Iraq. He added, as he often did in the presidential campaign’s closing months, that he would consult with military commanders before setting a firm timetable.