It is of course possible, and probably likely, that the Arab Spring of 2011 will fail, as other springs in the Middle East and elsewhere have never come to fruition. There would still be a case, for reasons of honor and duty, for the United States to try to help, to do the right thing, to stand with the opponents of tyranny, even if one thought them likely, even nearly certain, to fail.

Over these long years Indians have perfected many cultural attributes that may be appealing to the rest of the world - what Joseph Nye likes to call 'soft power’. Some good examples of Indian soft power are Yoga, Bollywood, Ayurveda and the great Indian cuisine (including curry and chicken tikka).

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's speech on Internet freedom on February 15 has been criticized by the Chinese media as hypocritical. However, I think it should be seen as a wake-up call for Chinese policymakers to prepare a Web-based public diplomacy with the US.

The demise of autocratic regimes, first in Tunisia and right after in Egypt, has triggered a broad debate that centers on the following question: Is the coming regime in Egypt, which carries a central importance for the Arab world, likely to resemble Turkey, or Iran?

The nonviolent revolution in Egypt that prompted President Hosni Mubarak to resign after 18 days of protest of his people has, once again, exposed the conflict between idealism and pragmatism in American diplomacy. Historically, our idealism inspires people around the globe, but our pragmatic approach gives money to dictators.

CNN's Candy Crowley was perpetuating one of the American media's favorite myths about Barack Obama, that his mere election in 2008 had radically improved the United States' image around the world...

Egypt's uprising emptied the hotels, casinos and bars of a tourist trade that employs one in eight Egyptians, but staff expect the recovery to be quick and the revolution to boost business in the long run.

If the events in Egypt taught us anything over the past few weeks it is that notions of freedom and fear run in parallel. I was struck as many of you might have been by the myriad images and poignant stories pouring out of Egypt showing Egyptians by the thousands demanding their freedom and rallying for global support.