Past presidents have tried to use "soft power" strategies to bolster the United States' cultural appeal abroad and lend moral weight to the country's standing as the free world's leading alternative to communist or authoritarian systems. Such tactics are not a substitute for military and economic "hard power," foreign affairs analysts said, but can help shape global perceptions of the United States and its motives.

The 14-to-0 vote by the United Nations Security Council condemning Israeli settlements, permitted on Friday by President Obama, who ordered an American abstention, served as a reminder that the Palestinian issue remains a powder keg. Mr. Trump’s clarion call supporting Israel on settlements and his promise to move the American Embassy to Jerusalem could easily stir new antipathy among the Sunni Arab states Mr. Netanyahu has been courting most, analysts said.

Behind the growing terror threat is Germany’s ongoing debate about privacy and data collection, highlighted by a recent law to reign in Germany’s intelligence agency, the Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND) [...] Yet Germany’s new push to ban Islamist recruitment organizations and crack down on suspected terrorists reveals a newfound realism from Germany's leaders.

President Rouhani touched upon critical issues of the press and the crackdown targeting the ‘mouths and pens’ based on unfounded evidence; he believed that the media’s foremost responsibility was to promote peace of mind for the public, since “in a society of severe perturbation and tumult, terrorism and extremism would find favorable grounds to be fostered

Taliban fighters posed for the camera, their shawls and bandannas covering their identities but not their jubilation, as they captured the main roundabout in the northern Afghan city of Kunduz early this month in what could have been called “operation hoist the flag and pull out a smartphone.” [...] In a country where social media use is becoming more and more vital, the Taliban are making sure to flood the information channels with their message.

The United States values our multifaceted partnership with Kenya and that is why we continue to support its efforts to counter violent extremism and terrorism. Just this year, the State Department and USAID started implementing $7.5 million to support the efforts to the Counterterrorism Partnership Fund in Kenya. T

Social media has empowered isis recruiting, helping the group draw at least 30,000 foreign fighters, from some 100 countries, to the battlefields of Syria and Iraq. It has aided the seeding of new franchises in places ranging from Libya and Afghanistan to Nigeria and Bangladesh. It was the vehicle isis used to declare war on the United States...