(CNN) -- After his inauguration, if President Barack Obama needs real-time intelligence on crises around the world, he is likely to do it in the Situation Room, the ultra-secure conference room in the White House. It's a place this new president may be seeing a lot of. Interconnected crises: Afghan children hold toy guns in an anti-Israel protest. During the election campaign, Obama often talked about Iraq, a war he opposed, and his plan to withdraw troops within 16 months. He stressed the need to increase U.S. forces in Afghanistan. He criticized Russia for moving its troops into Georgia. Ultimately, however, the campaign hinged on the economy. Substantive debate over the long list of international challenges facing the United States never happened.
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Israel-Palestinians flared up again during the presidential transition period
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Iraq and Afghanistan and their role in the war on terror
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Obama will need international help to battle the global financial meltdown
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How Obama reacts to crises will define his presidency
U.S. forces will now operate under new rules with the @placeholder military officially taking the lead.