Somalia, Libya, and China on the backburner - but for how long?

President Obama returned Friday from a trip to Europe that was dominated by consultations with U.S. allies about the fighting in Iraq, Syria, and Ukraine. But for all the headline-grabbing chaos in those countries, some real points of concern have emerged or festered elsewhere, promising no shortage of crises for the administration to address.

Between Islamist militants in Somalia and Libya, new al Qaeda initiatives in the Indian subcontinent, and continued tensions in East Asia driven by China's rise, the U.S. won't have the luxury of picking and choosing its battles as the year grinds on.

Here's a look at four flash points that have continued occupying the attention of policymakers even as more immediate problems have come to the fore.

Somalia

The al Shabaab movement in East Africa, which was responsible for the deadly attack on a shopping mall in Kenya last September, was dealt a heavy blow this week when the U.S. launched a strike this week that killed Ahmed Godane, the group's leader.

That attack, CBS News Senior National Security Analyst Juan Zarate said, demonstrates that al Shabaab "hasn't gone away. It's not dead."

Since the attack on the shopping mall, U.S. officials have been "very worried that this is a group that continues to aspire to attack beyond the borders of Somalia," Zarate said. "So what you've seen has been some movement of the African Union forces and the other forces on the ground -- the Somali government there -- against al Shabaab, and then you've got American strikes."

"It's clear that the US has its eye on this group still," Zarate added. "It's been diminished in terms of its control of territory but it continues to plot, continues to train, and has control of some parts of Somalia. So this is an attempt to constrain their reach, and to go after their senior leadership."

Libya

U.S. attention to the continued turmoil in Libya following the ouster of former Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi peaked shortly after the attack on a U.S. facility in Benghazi in September 2012 that killed four Americans, but the unrest there has continued to smolder. Most recently, it resulted in the seizure of a former U.S. diplomatic compound this week by Islamist militants.

"You've got Libya becoming Somalia on the Mediterranean in many ways," Zarate warned, "and what you have is a lot of the Islamic militants who are now vying for power, along with other tribal groups and other factions in Libya, taking control of more parts of the country, to include the airport and now this diplomatic facility that was basically a residence for US. diplomats and personnel."

The jihadis apparently had a "pool party" at the facility, Zarate added, noting a video of the revelry that was posted online showing militants jumping from balconies and generally trashing the place.

The seizure of the compound, Zarate said, reflects the sad reality that Libya's "governance is not working," and that extremists continue to hold sway over broad swaths of the country.

"I think it's a major concern for counterterrosim officials in the west, and you've always had the problem of extremists, especially in the east, in places like Benghazi that have been tied to al Qaeda," Zarate explained. "So we've got to keep our eye on Libya for precisely for those reasons."

Despite the dysfunction, though, the country has maintained stability in several crucial areas.

"Their investment authority is still operating fairly well. They're suing banks in the west and still running their investments," Zarate said. "And the oil is now flowing, and the trade is flowing. So, though you've got this massive problem of these Libyan extremists fighting for control, you do have parts of Libya that are working."

Al Qaeda re-emerges

With all the focus on the militants with the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), a group that has openly split with al Qaeda leadership, it's likely that the former tip of the global jihadi spear is feeling a bit left behind.

But that could be changing. The leader of al Qaeda, Ayman al Zawahiri, resurfaced in video posted this week announcing the formation of a new terrorist affiliate in the Indian Subcontinent.

"Zawahiri has reappeared," Zarate said. "He's in a video, I think prompted by all of the attention on [ISIS]...but he's also trying to rebrand and reassert his role as the leader of the broader global jihadi movement."

Zawahiri's aim is to "inspire an al Qaeda movement that coalesces in the subcontinent and South Asia," Zarate said.

The U.S. has its eye on Pakistani groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba and the Indian Mujahedeen, groups that have flirted with al Qaeda in the past. But "there hasn't been an organizing principle around some of these groups," Zarate said. "Al Qaeda is trying to lead that, and they're trying to do that in a period where they've begun to lose the battle in the media over who actually controls the jihadi movement."

China

China's rise has strained relationships with neighboring countries in East Asia, several of which have balked at Chinese territorial claims in the South China Sea. But it's not just China's neighbors that are feeling the heat.

Last month, for example, the Chinese air force buzzed an American surveillance plane in a high-stakes aerial encounter that yielded heated denunciations from U.S. officials.

The incident generated "diplomatic tension," Zarate said, but "clearly the Chinese are trying to send messages not just to their neighbors but to the United States that they're flexing their muscles."

Zarate also flagged a budding controversy in Hong Kong over the electoral process there and how much control Beijing has over the governance of the former British territory.

At the end of August, China's legislature denied a request for open nominations in the election of Hong Kong's leader, warning such a move would create a "chaotic society." It was the most vivid demonstration since Great Britain turned the territory over to Chinese control in 1997 that Beijing ultimately holds the reins of power, despite any promises of autonomy.

"This runs directly against the democratic principles of Hong Kong, the agreements that were made when the British handed over Hong Kong," Zarate said, "and it's created tumult within Hong Kong between those that are more tightly aligned with Beijing and those that want a more independent, special status for Hong Kong."