The Sept. 21 release of U.S. hikers... "affirms the importance of the role of religious dialogue and its end product in this case, public diplomacy, as we seek ways to define common ground between our two countries," said Diocese of Washington Bishop John Chane, who returned from a weeklong visit to Iran on Sept. 19.

The United States has the wherewithal to promote similar national resolves in the Middle East and North Africa through public diplomacy and education. Instead of giving a hand, however, the Obama Administration is celebrating violent protests and civil wars as a “spring” while promising handouts that will unfailingly find their way into the usual corrupt pockets.

What's sad here: AFRICOM was supposed to be different - the whole "3D" approach of diplomacy, development and defense, and in first few years it was. Now, word from everyone familiar with the command is this: AFRICOM's focus is all kinetics and kills, with the soft stuff going by the wayside....All hard and no soft makes AFRICOM a nasty boy.

Now lay practitioners of hasbara, or public outreach, are joining the ranks of the digital diplomats. The latest video making the rounds to illustrate Israel's position is "Israel Wants Peace - Friend Request Pending" (above). We're in a Facebook era, "like" it or not. Not everyone will agree with the video's message but most will understand its language.

Despite its size, Indonesia is distinctly lacking in hard-power assets. The source of Indonesia’s influence is soft power, which it has used to create regional institutions such as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to promote regional stability and pursue its key strategic objective of ensuring that Southeast Asia never fall under the hegemony of an outside power.

The challenges posed by the new media landscape...will likely take years to fully comprehend. But as the contours of the role of social media in the Arab Spring and elsewhere begin to take shape in the academic and policy-making arenas, everyone seems to agree on one point: The revolution is far from over.

Golbi, 19, and the winner of the 2010 season of "Kochav Nolad" - the Israeli incarnation of "American Idol" - performed a short set of songs on behalf of ELEM, a nonprofit organization that assists and rehabilitates “distressed youth” in Israel with programs ranging from counseling and social services to vocation and job training.

A promotional campaign urging visitors from the Gulf to visit Jordan appears to be paying off for the Hashemite Kingdom, whose hotels and attractions have been struggling with a drop in tourism from Europe and America. Jordan has been hoping to capitalize on its image of a relatively calm country amidst turbulent unrest to draw visitors.