What had been a challenge to US power is now a "historic opportunity", as Barack Obama put it in his Middle East speech last week. But he does not mean an opportunity for the people who have risen up; it is a chance for Washington to fashion the region's present and future, just as it did its past.

...the United States is an economic and military powerhouse in a way that Britain is not...Britain has some strong historical relationships with a number of countries that the United States does not. And Britain...has so-called “soft power” that the United States might have been lacking in recent years.

Indeed, the Arab Spring strengthens rather than weakens Turkey's position in the Arab world and vindicates the new strategic thrust of Turkish foreign policy.

SBY also has a vision of world peace, with his proposal for a triple-track solution for the future of Iraq as an example. However, the President’s most popular vision was perhaps on Indonesia’s soft power diplomacy, which he presented before a UN forum and USINDO in 2007. He envisaged that many conflicts in the world could not reach peaceful solution as actors pursued solely hard power.

India may have certain soft-power advantages, including its Bollywood film industry as well as widespread English fluency and a history of living under British colonial rule that it shares with many African countries. There is also a significant Indian diaspora in Africa.

It must have seemed like a good idea at the time: greet visitors to the New Zealand capital with a giant white "Wellywood" sign celebrating the country's booming film industry. The fact it was a rip-off of the famous "Hollywood" sign has infuriated residents, who have denounced it as lame and tacky.

Those keen to pinpoint how an essential relationship differs from a special one will be tracking Michelle Obama's wardrobe choices. The First Lady has proved herself to have a talent for projecting a style which illustrates the Obama political message, while showcasing her own personality.

President Obama landed in London on Monday night for a state visit at a time when Britain faces a reckoning over whether it can afford the global reach its allies in Washington have come to expect - an influence bought in large part through its strategic and military alliance with the United States.