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President Barack Obama used his power as the 44th US president to shut down the notorious Guantanamo Bay Detention Centre within a year. He also ordered that ghost prisons around the world be shut down as well. In addition, a special task force has been set up to ensure that there is no more torture during detention and to review all policies related to this issue.

Indeed, Obama is keeping the promises he made while campaigning - that he would reinstate respect for the United States and restore its moral position. And shutting down Guantanamo is a good way to begin. He has taken quick action instead of going about it at a snail's pace, as many pundits would have wished. Maybe this signals a new era in US foreign policy.

The swift Senate approval of Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State also shows that the Obama administration is utilising all available opportunities to improve the country's image through the use of soft, and of late, smart power.

After the September 11 terrorist attacks, the treatment of inmates in Guantanamo and other detention centres made America into a world bully. Torture under detention became a huge issue because debates within the United States were spilt clearly down the middle.

The torture continued because it was the will of former president George W Bush that anybody who harmed the US and took part in terrorist events be punished - and punished severely. Luckily, not all his wishes came true. Only around 100 people were prosecuted, while 500 suspects were released from Guantanamo - the US naval base in Cuba. Now, the remaining 245 prisoners need to go somewhere once the detention centre is closed, and for this cooperation and assistance from friends and allies is needed.

The world is excited and is welcoming Obama with open arms, waiting for his visions to come to fruition. Sadly, that "feel-good" sentiment will not last if Washington becomes arrogant and fails to nurture this positive response.

This was the exact mistake Bush made - he became too gung-ho and failed to take up global goodwill and sympathy and turn it into something tangible and durable.

Obama, fortunately, is different. He has acted quickly on issues that are sensitive, even though they could have far-reaching implications on American security in the future. Still, he dared take the action believing that it would be the best way to boost Washington's standing overseas. He was also very succinct in saying that he did not want to wage war against terrorists by going against core American values.

The three executive orders signed also affect the nation's allies and friends.

It is no secret that Thailand has been playing an important part in the United States' global counter-terrorism war over the past few years. For instance, the surprise arrest in Ayutthaya of Hambali, a terrorist with al-Qaeda links based in Southeast Asia, in August 2003 was hailed as the hallmark of close collaboration between the two countries on the anti-terror war.

Later, Hambali's swift transfer to a secret detention centre abroad also showed the intensity of Thailand's "friendship and cooperation". Despite the Thai government's vehement denial, the United States confirmed that the Kingdom was host to one of the many ghost prisons across the world that Washington used to detain terrorist suspects.

This year is probably going to be the most significant one in terms of Thai-US relations - which celebrated 175 years last year - if Obama decides to stop by in Bangkok to attend the proposed commemorative US-Asean summit. The summit was originally scheduled to be held in 2007.

As chair of Asean, Thailand must push for the resumption of the summit and convince the new US president that it would benefit both sides to meet in Bangkok. Of course, Obama could also opt for an informal meeting in Singapore to be held back to back with the Apec leaders' conference in October.

It cannot been stressed enough that a confident and respectable America, in its rightful place in the world, would benefit us all and make this planet safer. Remember, over the past eight years America has been acting unilaterally, ignoring the significance of the United Nations and other forms of multilateral cooperation because the superpower felt insecure and unloved. It was only towards the end of his second term that Bush sought to engage the rest of the world.

Obama has made a good start and we all hope that he keeps the momentum going and maintains the kind of consistency that is needed in international politics, because whenever the US falters, terrorists push forward their radical agenda.