Transition Watch: Gates likely to continue as defense secretary

Defense Secretary Robert Gates is in the final stages of negotiations with President-elect Barack Obama's transition team to stay at his post for at least a year to ensure stability for a military engaged in two wars, reports The Washington Post.

The agreement, as outlined by Democratic sources familiar with the negotiations, calls for Gates to stay on during a phased changeover of key political appointees at the Pentagon that sources describe as a "rolling transition." Some sources speculate he might stay in the job indefinitely. But either way, most of the deputies under him would be replaced.

Obama plans to announce members of his national security team early next week, the newspaper said.