Bush also would like to improve relations with the Europeans and to continue the war on terror on all fronts.

-- IRAQ is undoubtedly the largest piece of the puzzle. The upcoming January 30 election will be an important test of the US ability to move that country onto the path of credible democracy. But violence is likely to sink the country into chaos, and the prospects for the withdrawal of the 150,000 American soldiers deployed there are still very iffy.

-- IRAN is at the center of US concerns in the area because of its influence in Iraq, its nuclear ambitions and its capacity to harm the Israeli-Palestinian efforts to reach peace. Washington, which hesitates to take military action, is paying lip service to an agreement between Tehran and Europe on freezing Iran's most alarming nuclear activities.

-- NORTH KOREA, which was included by Bush, along with Iran and Saddam Hussein's Iraq, into an "axis of evil," continues to worry Washington because of its nuclear program. Six-party talks that involve the United States, China, Russia, Japan and both Koreas have not yielded much, but Pyongyang has expressed its desire to return to the negotiating table.

-- WAR ON TERROR will remain a dominant topic as it has been since the September 11, 2001, attacks. It covers all the areas of the world from Central Asia to South America. The capture of Osama bin Laden, who remains at large in spite of a more than three-year-long effort to capture him, remains a priority.

-- ISRAELI-PALESTINIAN CONFLICT returns to the forefront of international diplomacy following the election of Mahmud Abbas as head of the Palestinian Authority. Abbas is considered by Washington an acceptable interlocutor after the death of Yasser Arafat, who had been boycotted by Bush. Washington now hopes to re-start the search for peace in the region.

-- EUROPE will be also at the center of attention. Bush's first term was marked by many dissensions on Iraq and criticism of what was seen as "unilateralist" American foreign policy. At the end of February, Bush will take a trip to Europe to try to improve the climate and the US image.

-- RUSSIA under Vladimir Putin remains a problem. The two presidents say they like each other personally, but they are in competition in Central Asia, the Caucasus and in Eastern Europe. Authoritarian tendencies in the Kremlin worry Washington.

-- CHINA and its growing ambitions in Asia make it a partner impossible to ignore when dealing with many commercial and political issues. Bush could also capitalize on the aid provided to victims of the tsunamis to strengthen US ties with South Asia.

-- CUBA has nothing to expect from Bush, who has reinforced sanctions against the island during his first term.

-- AFRICA will see the United States focused on the fight against AIDS and economic aid programs. The crisis in Sudan's Darfur region qualified by Washington as "genocide" remains a major concern.

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