Hello, Europe

Participants of this year's Munich Conference on Security Policy could soon get a chance to mingle with some of President-elect Obama's new -- and old -- national security big-wigs.

For one, Defense Secretary Robert Gates has already confirmed he'll be there, according to an announcement made this week by conference host Wolfgang Ischinger, a former ambassador of Germany to the United States.

The three-day conference is scheduled to begin on Feb. 6.

Other confirmed participants include German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and former presidential hopeful U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ), according to Ischinger's announcement.

NATO Secretary General Jaap the Hoop Scheffer is also expected to attend, as is former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissenger, who will deliver a speech on nuclear weapons, according to the announcement.

Obama's designated national security adviser, Gen. James Jones, and/or Hillary Clinton, nominated to be Secretary of State, also are rumored to consider attending, we're told.