As General Myers, the former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has observed, “every dollar spent on the soft power of ideas is worth 100 in hard power.”(...) In the years ahead, no matter who controls the White House or Congress, our nation must focus more of our efforts on soft power.

On a warm October night in suburban Manama, the capital of Bahrain, families gathered at a revamped office block. They were there to tour the labyrinth of simulated explosions, wax corpses, and interactive torture chambers in the so-called "Museum of Revolution"—an exhibition set up by members of the opposition to showcase the nastier realities of an uprising and crackdown that's consumed the island for more than two and a half years.