SCENARIOS: Major issues facing U.S. Attorney General

(Reuters) - President-elect Barack Obama on Monday named former deputy attorney general Eric Holder as his choice to be Attorney General, the top U.S. law enforcement official.

Here are some of the main challenges Holder, who served in the administration of former President Bill Clinton, would face:

GUANTANAMO - To make good on Obama's pledge to close the Guantanamo Bay prison, the Justice Department and Pentagon must find an alternative system to hold and try terrorism suspects.

Holder, speaking to the American Constitution Society in June of this year, called Guantanamo an "international embarrassment" and said the prisoners should be transferred to military prisons. Some members of Congress have expressed opposition to keeping convicted militants in any prison within the United States.

TERRORISM - Several U.S. antiterrorism practices that have drawn the most international criticism and legal challenges, including interrogation practices widely condemned as torture and warrantless electronic eavesdropping on some American citizens, have roots in Justice Department legal opinions. Some of those opinions already have been disavowed, but the Obama administration faces calls to launch a comprehensive review of department opinions in the war on terrorism.

In a 2002 CNN interview, Holder said unlawful enemy combatants were not entitled to Geneva Conventions protections, a view later rejected by the U.S. Supreme Court. Holder in his June speech urged an end to warrantless wiretapping and transferring of terrorism suspects to countries that practice torture. He said the United States should declare it will not subject prisoners to forced interrogations or degrading treatment.

FINANCIAL INVESTIGATIONS - The FBI is investigating more than two dozen major companies for fraud and other crimes connected with the U.S. credit market collapse, and with its primary mission now focused on terrorism, the agency faces a conflicting demands for agents and resources.

Some of Obama's legal allies have urged that the department employ national standards on prosecution of mortgage crimes, as opposed to relying on a patchwork of standards.

Holder, a former Washington, D.C. judge and U.S. Attorney, has served as a litigator and white-collar defense attorney for the big-league Covington & Burling law firm since leaving the Justice Department.

POLITICS - The Justice Department inspector general's office has found several examples of improper political influence in department hiring and firing decisions under former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. The current attorney general, Michael Mukasey, has been credited with curtailing such practices, and a new attorney general must ensure that the changes hold.

Holder would also be expected to help the Obama White House decide how to proceed with enforcing congressional subpoenas of White House officials over the firings of U.S. Attorneys during the administration of President George W. Bush.

(Reporting by Randall Mikkelsen; Editing by David Storey)