...the outcome [Palestine's admittance to UNESCO] has obliged Washington, under U.S. law, to cut its $80 million annual financial contribution to Unesco, weakening an important vehicle of U.S. "soft power" influence through the projects supporting U.S. goals in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere.

Monday's vote to admit Palestine as a full member of Unesco, the U.N. cultural arm, was a sharp reminder of just how limited Washington's influence -- hard, soft and smart -- has become in respect of the Middle East's most intractable conflict.

Due to failures of civilian institutions, many soldiers have become de facto nation-builders, anthropologists, and public diplomats. They were not, in many cases, trained for these missions. But they were the only option—albeit an expensive and inefficient one.

Now, as senior Republican on a key appropriations panel for foreign operations, Graham is trying to stave off funding cuts for a softer kind of power exercised by diplomats, civilian training corps and U.S. contractors who help other governments battle AIDS, modernize schools, instruct police, clean water wells and enhance their armed forces.

As part of America`s "smart power diplomacy" initiative, 15 American artists and collaborative artist teams will visit 15 countries including India to engage in people-to-people diplomacy through the visual arts.

The editorial seems reflective of a trend...Chinese policymakers, academic strategists, and journalists are stil a lot more obsessed with the United States than the other way around. Yes, there's been some perfunctory rhetoric about "getting tough with China" on the campaign trail, but there's still far more ink spilled over the Middle East in the U.S. national political conversation.

Given rapid economic development of Asian countries and the gradual formation of a new type of cooperation pattern, the United States is afraid to miss the express train of Asia's development and lose its dominance of regional affairs. The U.S. move to "return to Asia" aims to gain more interests from Asia's regional development and cement its dominant position.

U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and the Bronx Museum of the Arts launched smARTpowerSM., a new initiative that sends 15 American artists and collaborative artist teams to 15 countries worldwide to engage in people-to-people diplomacy through the visual arts.