Obama´s foreign policy challenges

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Obama has also promised an ambitious foreign policy agenda, that includes withdrawing most US combat troops from Iraq.

President-elect Barack Obama, pictured in 2008, is unlikely to probe President George W. Bush's counter- terror policies despite mounting calls by rights groups for independent investigation,analysts say. (AFP/File/Nicholas Kamm)

Barack Obama, US President, said, A"I've been against the Iraq war to an end in 2009."

The Obama team faces serious challenges in Afghanistan. US forces have been fighting there since 2001 to stabilize a weak central government.

Currently there are 36-thousand US troops in Afghanistan and plans for another 20-thousand troops in 2009.

Continuing dialogue with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and Iran on nuclear proliferation also ranks among the top issues facing the new Obama administration.

As he prepares to take the oath of office, the President-elect is being watched closely by allies and foes alike for indications on how he will make a break from the past eight years of the Bush administration, when Washington alienated many nations, and put his own stamp on American foreign policy.

Editor:Zhang Pengfei