Our dependence on foreign oil, which is directly related to our military presence and the wars in which we are currently engaged in the Middle East.  Besides costing hundreds of billions per year in both military costs and direct costs to consumers, our dependence makes our economy fundamentally subservient to world oil prices and our access to oil, which is volatile and unpredictable.

If the US were able to provide for more of its own energy, but also able to consume less or consume a renewable alternative source, then our country would be much more secure than it currently is.

In regards to national security, one of the most imminent threats to the United States is our lack of comprehensive border security. While many consider the border issue between the US and Mexico to be largely an immigration problem, it has now turned into a national security issue. The drug cartels in Mexico are murdering thousands there each year, and that violence has spread into the US. More significantly, several intelligence reports from information obtained from terrorist groups contain information about attempts to bring weapons and insurgents up through Central America into Mexico and then into the United States.

The President certainly has his hands full when it comes to national security because the border problem is just one aspect of keeping the nation safe. Some are concerned that the US's indebtedness to China is a national security problem because China is such a tentative ally. Other analysts cite Iran as a country that poses a threat to the US's safety.

At this time, I think one of the president's main goals is to review these policies to determine if we are appropriately responding to national security concerns. Before President Obama took office, his goals including reorganizing terrorism efforts, focusing on finding Bin Laden, closing Guantanamo Bay, brokering peace in the Middle East and so on. The direction of these efforts did change in some cases and not in others. The president determines foreign policy direction, but does not control everything that happens in the world. Once the unrest in the Middle Eastern countries began to reach a boiling point, and the war in Afghanistan heated it, those became prime concerns.

One of the reasons that was blamed for the terrorist attacks on Sept 11, 2011 was that we were NOT on top of every single military intelligence that was available. According to what the news said, there had been information available that was just taken for granted. Military intelligence officials, and national security officials, presumably failed to connect the dots and unveil the patterns of behavior of those who had already tried to conduct similar attacks on previous years.

Therefore, the President needs to get all the intelligence personnel of this country in consistent alert. He cannot afford to have another Sept 11 happen again. We are vulnerable. He should know this. At least, I hope he does.

The most important security issue that the president needs to address at this point is the issue of terrorism.  The greatest danger to the US right now is the danger of terrorism.  Terrorism cannot really pose an existential threat to the country, but it could seriously disrupt our economy.  Another terrorist attack, especially if done "right" (for example, if it were an attack on a port or an oil refinery) could really clog up the US economy as security measures were taken to prevent further attacks.

Outside of that, perhaps the next most important would be to try to create some sort of peace in the Middle East.