It seems that without an effective American president player on the ground, it will be very difficult to get the Israelis and Palestinians to a negotiating table, unless somehow they can figure out a way to do a secret backchannel. Public diplomacy won’t work without an American role...

America still has much soft power from the sales of weapons to Iraq, the need of Iraqi counterterrorism forces to work with U.S. Special Forces. Then there's the issue of America helping Iraq with investment, getting foreign companies in, and the issue of ending Iraq's Chapter Seven status at the UN...

With the world’s largest economy as well as its reserve currency, the most capable military, considerable cultural, scientific, and moral soft power, and many other strengths, America also has substantial opportunities. The United States has produced much of the technological innovation that is currently transforming the world...

When it comes to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, perhaps no newspaper's coverage generates more passionate and emotional reaction from the Jewish community in America and around the world than that of the New York Times. There has been an increasingly troubling imbalance in the way that the Times presents stories and opinions on the Middle East conflict.

The liberal spirit of the reform and opening era in the 1980s reinvigorated western culture in China, and the quickly marketized economy in the 1990s seized onto the holiday's profitable potential. Now, Christmas is both a commercial and fashion statement...

These would mainly entail concrete and transparent democratic improvements, as well as economic measures aimed at improving quality of life and opportunities for the general public. The United States could complement assistance by augmenting its public diplomacy, cultural outreach and educational exchanges.

In yet another display of democracy and "People Power," the unarmed protestors in Syria have set off two bombs in Damascus...The US media -- even some alternative and antiwar sources -- do not bother to exercise even a touch of skepticism when the rebels who seek regime change in Syria...

The war... diminished America’s soft power and credibility globally...One of the ways in which the US has left Iraq a better place is that it has nudged the country towards democracy...The major adverse effect of the US withdrawal could be renewed fighting among warring ethnic groups.