President Obama will soon face two national-security challenges that will ultimately be consequential for the rest of his presidency. And it’s important that we all understand how serious these challenges are.

The deteriorating military condition in Afghanistan — complicated by the most recent Afghan election — offers Obama no easy path toward a drawdown of American military forces. This year has seen the highest death toll of foreign forces fighting in Afghanistan since the war began.

And while most of the world comes to accept the reality that President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Ayatollah Ali Khamenei will retain power in Iran, there still has been no response to U.S. overtures for a dialogue on the country’s nuclear program.

But why should you care? National-security issues may seem distant, but they do matter. They matter because in one way or another we all paying for them, whether personally or peripherally. Congress and this administration have a limited bandwidth. We can’t reasonably deal with all of these big and complex problems, domestically or abroad.

The Obama administration has its plate full with a host of taxing domestic issues. Adding an unpopular war to the mix, where Obama is sure to draw criticism from both the left and the right, complicates matters even more so. Furthermore, his foreign-policy approach has been marked by a change in style, tone, and willingness to talk to our enemies.

While these two issues will occupy their own space for debate, they could eventually undermine the president’s domestic agenda — be it health care, education, or the climate-change legislation that’s stalled in the Senate. Imagine Congress debating withdrawal versus surge strategies, while at the same time attempting to pass a health-care bill.

It won’t be pretty.

Unlike an issue such as health-care reform or the economy, the Afghan war and the Iranian nuclear program are issues that are not likely to go away anytime soon. The war is likely to get worse before things get better, and improving our relationship with Iran is going to take more time.

The options available to the administration are few, and they are tough. It seems as if the administration has settled on increasing troops in Afghanistan — a difficult thing to sell the American people. Most Americans have soured on the war and do not see the prospect for a clear victory in sight. Many on the left no longer see the need for America’s continued military involvement in the country.

If the administration chooses not to increase our military role in the country, Obama will be portrayed as playing politics with national security and not listening to the commanders in the field by his opposition.

During primary season, Obama’s willingness to publicly state his willingness to talk to our enemies distinguished him from the field on foreign-policy matters. It became a defining characteristic of his foreign-policy approach. But what will he do if Iran continues with its nuclear program? Increase sanctions through the U.N. Security Council? Further isolate Iran from the international community? Take a harsher tone with the country? This all sounds more like a return to George W. than a change.

Many challenges, both domestic and international, confront Obama so early in his presidency. But with each challenge, there is also an opportunity: An opportunity for the president to go before the American public and explain what’s at stake for this country and the world we all share.