Joe Biden received a lot of heat when he stated Barack Obama would be tested by the world within his first six months as president.

“We are going to have an international crisis, a generated crisis to test the mettle of this guy,” said Biden two weeks before Barack Obama was elected with over 52% of the popular vote.

It is impossible to know what Biden was alluding to, but it is obvious that his statement is foreshadowing Barack Obama’s first major test as he enters the presidency.

Obama will inherit two wars. There is a dwindling conflict in Iraq, and an escalating conflict in Afghanistan.

It is difficult to deny that these two separate crises were not inflicted from the outside world, but from the inverted actions of a previous president.

What Biden was actually alluding to, was a “generated” crisis. This means there will be an outside agitator.

Biden is correct. Obama will be tested by some unforeseen conflict. But before that happens, he will explore a long term solution to the Iraq/Afghanistan question.

Biden’s comment made sense, but it doesn’t matter. Obama is being tested; he is looking forward to real solutions to all of these questions.

His position on Iraq is directed toward a “responsible end”.

The sustained withdrawal of troops, a responsible evacuation, followed by a rejuvenated focus on surveillance of Iraq’s borders has been Barack Obama’s premeditated solution to the war in Iraq since he began his campaign.

His position on Afghanistan pivots on his desire to add two battalions toward adding security, increasing awareness there, and attempting to reform the governing body there.

Afghanistan, not Iraq, will be Obama’s first test. It will be the main front of Obama’s “war on terrorism”. It is an inherited war.

The last time an American president inherited a war, Richard M. Nixon was elected to replace Lyndon B. Johnson in 1968.

He promised a secret plan to end the war in Vietnam. There was a lot of emphasis on that “secret plan”.

Nixon expanded the war by invading Cambodia. The war in Vietnam went on until Gerald Ford entered office.

It is more than a test. Obama faces true world turmoil. The fact that the United States is mired in two ongoing conflicts further complicates things.

The state of the world will inevitably provide a number of unforeseen challenges for the Obama administration.

We can’t really tell how many of these tests will come within six months, six days, or six years.

Afghanistan itself is tied to a number of strings.

Many of them are attached to Pakistan. Inevitably, there will be a decision that needs to be made that will directly impact our biggest ally in the war in Afghanistan.

Currently, Pakistan is in the middle of electing a new prime minister, democratically. It is also providing refuge for our worst enemies.

Whether Barack Obama can walk on eggshells may make all the difference in Afghanistan.

Whether the United States can be there for their president may have a direct effect on how he will affect foreign policy, and for how long.

“And he’s going to need help . . . to stand with him. Because it’s not going to be apparent initially; it’s not going to be apparent that we’re right,” concluded Biden.

Biden was not reading tea leaves, he was making an estimated guess, and there have always been enough smart people in the white house to make those.

The real test isn’t going to determine whether Obama is smart enough; it’s going to answer whether he’s right.