Obama's First Foreign Policy Challenge In Second Term: Replacing Hillary Clinton

Obama's Faces Difficult First Foreign Policy Challenge
U.S Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton smiles at a conference on women's empowerment in Lima, Peru, Tuesday, Oct. 16, 2012. Clinton arrived for the long-planned women's event in Lima Monday, after another weekend of criticism from Republicans over the Obama administration's initial explanation of the Sept. 11 attack and security at the consulate in Benghazi, where the U.S. ambassador and three other Americans died. (AP Photo/Karel Navarro)
U.S Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton smiles at a conference on women's empowerment in Lima, Peru, Tuesday, Oct. 16, 2012. Clinton arrived for the long-planned women's event in Lima Monday, after another weekend of criticism from Republicans over the Obama administration's initial explanation of the Sept. 11 attack and security at the consulate in Benghazi, where the U.S. ambassador and three other Americans died. (AP Photo/Karel Navarro)

Foreign policy wasn't the issue that got President Barack Obama re-elected Tuesday, but with upheaval in the Middle East, a war to end in Afghanistan and strained relations with superpowers Russia and China, it's sure to play an outsized role in shaping his legacy as he enters a hard-won second term.

One of Obama's first and most crucial tasks will be naming a successor to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who's vowed to step down after this year.

Popular in the Community

Close

What's Hot