A new opinion poll released Thursday shows Americans in continued support of the goal to “downgrade and ultimately destroy” the Islamic State (ISIS), as President Obama has articulated it.

Top American Envoy in Ecuador Sings the Blues to Connect With Citizens, as a Medley of His Colleagues in South America Face Choirs of Hostility

This year has seen marked resurgence in the use of hard power by states in pursuit of national interests. Yet, not so long ago, talk in diplomatic, academic and journalistic circles focused on the growing importance of soft power in international relations.

Supplying new weapons to Iraq and refurbishing its poorly maintained war stocks has become an urgent priority for Barack Obama’s administration after nearly half the Iraqi Army that was trained and equipped by U.S. forces before 2011 — or about 24 brigades out of 50 — unraveled last summer in the face of the Islamic State’s brutal onslaught.

The US remains deeply popular around the world, as soft power and branding are used as tools of cultural imperialism.

Of the total contributions of nearly $259,000 — slightly over 1 million shekels — about $237,000 came from American donors, according to records made public by Israel’s State Comptroller and first published by BuzzFeed.

In 2014, New Diplomacy Initiative organized 13 symposiums in Japan and four in the U.S. to discuss issues such as Sino-Japanese relations and Abe’s push to enable the Self-Defense Forces to come to the defense of an ally.

 Obama is rightly emphasizing the reality that electricity is an input into nearly every good and service in households, villages, towns and national economies. A region in which 600 million out of 960 million are without power cannot possibly ignite, expand or sustain economic growth and development. And that is why the President decided to do something about it -- launching what I have baptized Obama's Megawatt Diplomacy that aims to build no less than 30,000 megawatts in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA).