President Barack Obama inherited a global war on terror when he took office two years ago. 

This ideological war also came along with combat wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. California service members have paid a heavy price as a result with 604 deaths through the end of 2010. Service members from Southern California make up more than half of these deaths. With tensions rising in the Korean peninsula, political instability in Tunisia and Iran’s nuclear program, many Americans wonder what comes next.

“What comes next” was on the agenda Friday when Deputy Secretary of State James Steingberg addressed close to 100 members of the Pacific Council on International Policy in Los Angeles.  Steinberg discussed the challenges facing the country, particularly those concerning national security.  While North Korea and Tunisia feature prominently in the news coverage of late, Steinberg sees another issue as the administration’s top priority at the moment.

“There are two things that preoccupy us, one is we still have not really come to terms with an effective strategy against extremism.”  Steinberg added, “This is a tremendous threat to stable societies, to global partners and ultimately because of technology, has become a deep and serious threat to us.”

Pakistan poses a significant challenge according to Steinberg.  While Obama has been able to build relationships with the Pakistani leadership, there remains a deep suspicion of the U.S. among the Pakistani people, something that is not lost on the administration.

“Public engagement, public diplomacy and using the tools of communication and technology have been dramatically more important,” said Steinberg.  In Pakistan this includes using social media to combat fallacies about U.S. policies in an effort to stunt the increasing popularity of extremists.

The administration’s second preoccupation involves the way technology can be used to harm national security, something Catherine Lotrionte, a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and a cyber security expert, affiirms.  Lotrionte points to the release of diplomatic cables by the Wikileaks website as an example of how technology can negatively affect national security.

“Any information meant to be classified is clearly designated as sensitive because of the damage it would cause if released and there has been damage to the U.S. as a result of the Wikileaks release,” Lotrionte said.

Questions about how the Obama administration’s international relationships might be harmed due to the release continue to arise.  Is the harm irreparable? Lotrionte believes there is a way to regain the trust of foreign leaders.

“If they put their best efforts forward with a lot of time and people they can do a lot to assure our friends and allies this won’t happen again.”  She added,  “I think the U.S. is taking this very seriously and you can do a lot if you move quickly on it and try to convince other states.”

It probably helps that the Obama administration placed an importance on diplomacy, building relationships and garnering cooperation with foreign governments in its first two years, something the Bush administration did not emphasize as much.

“I think in at least the early days of the previous administration there was this importance to try and sustain our gap, we did not want to see anybody coming up, and I think our perspective is very different,” Steinberg said.

This cooperation will continue to be an important factor in winning the war on terror.  Steinberg acknowledges that winning the war on terror will be a difficult and long fight,

“It’s a big challenge because it does require sustained efforts, it’s a long-term thing, there are no quick victories and it requires resources,” Steinberg told the council. 

The main focus of the president’s State of the Union address on Tuesday will be job creation and the economy, but expect him to touch on what’s next in terms of the importance of foreign policy.

For more from Neon Tommy's special series examining Obama at the midpoint of his first term, click here.

Reach Christine Detz here.