A series of widening wars, growing humanitarian crises and simmering foreign conflicts are among the list of foreign policy/security woes confronting President Donald Trump. From day one of his administration, the president must assess and prioritise US policy interests in key regions on both geo-strategic and political fronts.
As President Donald Trump optimistically stated in his inauguration address, "The Golden Age of America begins right now!"
The previous Biden administration was noted for a plethora of foreign foibles from day one; scrapping the US/Canada petroleum Keystone XL Pipeline literally during its first hours to the shameful military debacle in Afghanistan later in 2021, to a series of questionable polices from Ukraine to Venezuela.
But the Biden team excelled in compassion charades, high-profile policies in which the stylised drama often appeared good through a TV lens but, in reality, was only shadows mixed with risky outcomes. Mr Biden's blundering, coupled with mainstream media complicity, deepened the risk for American interests globally and compromised President Trump's foreign policy inheritance.
Here are some key regions and challenges facing the new President.
Middle East: The horrors of the Hamas terror attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023 triggered a wider war in Gaza which later spilled into Lebanon. Despite a tenuous and long-awaited cease-fire, the tension could be easily reignited. The positive outcome has been that Israel has bloodied and decimated the Iranian-backed Hamas as well as Hezbollah. Equally, but for different reasons, the Russian and Iranian-supported regime in Syria has collapsed.
The Islamic Republic of Iran remains vulnerable after a series of setbacks through the loss of its terrorist proxies and Syrian ally. Iran is the place to watch as well as the evolving Islamic regime in Damascus. So, too, are the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen who threaten the Red Sea maritime lanes of communication south of Suez. Libya's civil war has festered.
As to the hostages held by Hamas, 33 will be released, including 3 Americans in the cease-fire deal. But Hamas understood the dire consequences of not releasing hostages (some of them) given Donald Trump's dire warning of "Hell to pay", should they fail to do so. This recalled the Iranian regime's quick capitulation to the incoming Reagan administration, when the Ayatollah surrendered over 50 US hostages from the American Embassy. Deja vu January 1981!
Ukraine: The full-scale war and Russian invasion was unleashed in Mr Biden's second year, the largest war in Europe since WWII. In Ukraine, the Biden efforts supported risky military escalatory measures against the nuclear-armed aggressor Russia through its sending over $185 billion in military and economic aid supporting the Kyiv government.
The Nato alliance remains vital but its 32 member states must carry larger military burdens as Mr Trump pressed for already in his first administration, especially the agreed to 2% GDP defence spending minimum.
Latin America: Rocky relations continue with Venezuela as the US has rightly shunned the Cuban-backed Maduro regime but, at the same time, not played political hardball against that regime exporting tens of thousands of migrants, often with gang and criminal connections, across America's southern border. Open borders have encouraged human trafficking into the US.
Significantly, Mexican people-smuggling cartels pose a direct danger to the United States. The President warned, "We will also be designating the cartels as foreign terrorist organisations." The US borders must be secured.
China policy: The growth of China's military poses a clear and present danger to the US.
In Senate confirmation hearings, as Secretary of State, Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) stated clearly, "without swift and substantive policy shifts, China will remain the 'biggest threat' to American prosperity in the 21st Century … If we don't change course, we are going to live in the world where much of what matters to us on a daily basis from our security to our health will be dependent on whether the Chinese allow us to have it or not."
Beijing's threats to Taiwan loom. Though the small New Hampshire-sized island off the China mainland no longer has a formal US defence treaty, as do Japan and South Korea, Beijing's military intimidation has grown exponentially.
In a world mired in conflict and humanitarian chaos, only a strong, focused and pro-active America can recalibrate the equilibrium and serve as a positive force for change.
The challenge now begins.
John J Metzler is a United Nations correspondent covering diplomatic and defence issues. He is the author of 'Divided Dynamism: The Diplomacy of Separated Nations; Germany, Korea, China'.