By Joe MurphyLast updated at 1:39 AM on 07th November 2008
Barack Obama was confronting a looming international crisis just hours after his White House election triumph.The U.S. President-elect faced a triple threat with Russia, Israel and Afghanistan all threatening to test his mettle.
Locked away in his Chicago home, Mr Obama received his first national security intelligence briefing yesterday as he wrestled with appointments for his Cabinet.
He ventured out twice, once to visit his local gym and then his downtown offices.
Each time he was escorted by a convoy of black vehicles carrying heavily armed secret service agents.Aides said he planned no public appearances until later in the week.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev was first to lay down a challenge to America's new leader - by increasing tension in a stand off reminiscent of the Cold War.
In a provocative speech from the Kremlin, he threatened to base warheads along the Polish border if Mr Obama goes forward with a Bush administration plan to create a missile shield in Eastern Europe.
Then Israel warned last night that the new U.S. Commander-in-Chief's campaign claim that he was ready to open talks with Iran could be seen in the Middle East as a sign of weakness.
After eight years of staunch support from President Bush, the Israelis are now watching Mr Obama closely - even though he does not take power until January - looking for indicators as to how he will handle the nuclear threat from Tehran.
'We live in a neighbourhood in which dialogue - in a situation where you have brought sanctions and you then shift to dialogue - is liable to be interpreted as weakness,' said Israeli foreign minister Tzipi Livni.
Asked if she supported any U.S. talks with Iran, she quickly said: 'The answer is no.'
In a step that will further increase Israel's anxiety about Obama, Tehran announced last night that President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had broken a 29-year tradition and sent his congratulations to the President-elect - the first time an Iranian leader has offered such wishes since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Ahmadinejad congratulated the Democrat on 'attracting the majority of voters in the election'.
He said he hoped Obama will 'use the opportunity to serve the (American) people and leave a good name for history' during his term in office.
Iran and the U.S. have had no formal diplomatic relations since 1979 when militant Iranian students held 52 Americans captive 444 days.
President Bush has repeatedly clashed with Tehran over its nuclear program and its opposition to the U.S.-led invasions and occupations of Afghanistan and Iraq.
In Afghanistan, President Hamid Karzai demanded that Mr Obama 'put an end to civilian casualties' by changing U.S. military tactics to avoid airstrikes in the war on the Taliban.
He spoke out after seven wedding party guests were accidentally killed by an American airstrike in the southern Kandahar province. Afghan officials said last night 13 gunmen were killed in the attack.
Mr Obama has vowed to switch the U.S. military focus from Iraq to Afghanistan and is reportedly planning to ask Britain to send 3,000 extra troops to bolster extra American forces in the region.
But his aides fear a public backlash if he moves swiftly in Afghanistan before acting on his pledge to start a withdrawal from Iraq.
Gordon Brown became one of the first world leaders to congratulate Obama in a ten-minute telephone call last night. Aides said they discussed Obama's plans for a phased withdrawal from Iraq and his commitment to boost forces in Afghanistan.
Speaking from the South Lawn of the White House, President Bush said he would be meeting Mr Obama next week and is making 'unprecedented efforts' to make a smooth transition during his final 74 days in office.
As if the instant foreign policy tests were not enough, Mr Obama was also facing more economic problems with the Dow Jones Index dropping for a second successive day.
Wall Street greeted his election win by plunging nearly 500 points on Wednesday and it was down again by 274 points in afternoon trading.
While new presidents often take weeks before naming their Cabinet, Mr Obama was quick out of the blocks yesterday, offering the chief-of-staff job to tough-talking congressman Rahm Emanuel, a veteran of the Clinton administration, and more appointments are expected next week.
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