University of Indonesia security expert Andi Widjajanto said it would be hard for Yudhoyono to rely only on soft power measures, such as dialogues, norms establishment and confidence-building measures, to reduce tensions without resorting to hard power.

Internet users trying to access a new U.S. "virtual embassy"' from Iran on Wednesday said they were redirected to a Web page offering links to Iranian news, cultural and religious sites. The United States launched the site on Tuesday, saying it wanted to promote understanding between the two countries.

Throughout history, many nations have relied on historical phenomena, narratives, and myths to define their identities and their relation to the outside reality. When narratives survive the test of time and space, they become meta-narratives which shape the worldview and the conduct of the societies they encompass. In addition to having profound effects on the socio-cultural process, meta-narratives sometimes influence and explicate the international behavior of a nation.

Expanding the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) would bring increased economic opportunity to and improve national security in the United States while advancing U.S. public diplomacy around the world, said Roger J. Dow, president and CEO of the U.S. Travel Association.

America’s stock has depreciated the most in the arena of moral power, which stems from the natural attraction of an entity’s cultural, political and economic prowess that encourages others to voluntarily follow it. As the world discovers America’s gridlocked and money-dominated political system, its ecologically damaging, and crisis-prone economic system, it is fast losing its appeal as the country to emulate.

China as the dominant international economic and political force in Africa epitomizes the most dramatic shift in geopolitics since the Soviet Union collapsed. Yet the United States, Africa's traditional trading partner, seem incapable of responding to the challenge and retaking the initiative. Instead, its response has been to wring its hands in despair and make ineffectual noises about human rights and democracy.

The Obama Administration defends the human rights of LGBT people as part of our comprehensive human rights policy and as a priority of our foreign policy. In Washington, we have created a task force at the State Department to support and coordinate this work. And in the coming months, we will provide every embassy with a toolkit to help improve their efforts.