A few weeks ago in the campaign trail, Vice President-Elect Joe Biden warned that ("mark my words") within six months Barack Obama "would be tested" by an international crisis.
Well, not even six days passed since Obama's election and those challenges have already surfaced.
From the Daily Mail (U.K.):
The first of the challenges thrown at the President-elect, who received his first national security intelligence briefing yesterday, came from the Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.
He threatened to base warheads along the Polish border if Obama goes ahead with a Bush administration plan to create a missile shield in Eastern Europe.
Then Israel warned Obama last night that his claim that he was ready to open talks with Iran could be seen in the Middle East as a sign of weakness.
Furthermore, Afghanistan's president Hamid Karzai demanded that 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.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev was the 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.'
Meanwhile, Obama was meeting with his advisors at his Chicago home on cabinet selections. Some pundits are already calling these meetings as "What do we do now?" meetings.
It appears that Biden was correct on Obama being challenged, but the timing was a little off.
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