President-elect Barack Obama's transition team is asking potential appointees for detailed background information, setting the stage for one of the toughest review processes to date. Analysts explain the reasoning behind the intense vetting strategy.

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In a Reporter's Notebook, NewsHour senior correspondent Gwen Ifill discussed how President-elect Barack Obama and his team may approach the vetting process for possible Cabinet picks.

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President-elect Barack Obama's first post-election interview Sunday on CBS's "60 Minutes" offered insight on his immediate plans, long-term goals and limits to his presidential power. Ryan Lizza of the New Yorker discusses the interview's revelations.

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Iraqi lawmakers began debate Monday over a security pact with the United States that will allow U.S. forces to remain for three more years, a day after the Iraqi Cabinet signed off on the deal.

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Valerie Jarrett, a co-chair of President-elect Barack Obama's transition team, details how plans are unfolding to name a new Cabinet and shape the policy priorities of a new administration.

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Sen. Barack Obama and President Bush met Monday at the White House as speculation about the president-elect's cabinet and which top officials he may retain from the current administration continued to circulate around Washington. A journalist explains the process.

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Six ministers tied to Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr left the Iraqi Cabinet Monday, protesting Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's refusal to set a timetable for U.S. withdrawal from Iraq. Two regional experts discuss the resignations and the impact on Iraqi politics.

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The Iraqi parliament finalized a permanent government Thursday after filling three contentious cabinet posts of the defense, interior and national security ministries, renewing hope that Iraq's nascent democracy can overcome sectarian differences.

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This paper regarding the conditions for military action in Iraq was produced by the Cabinet Office on July 21, 2002. It is incomplete because the last page is missing.

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President Bush nominated Jim Nicholson, the former Republican Party chairman and an ex-Army ranger, to replace retiring Anthony Principi as Veterans Affairs secretary, finishing a Cabinet reorganization that saw the departure of nine secretaries.

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