Intro:
From Ebola to the Islamic State, foreign policy is playing an unusually prominent in this year's 2014 mid-term elections.
Americans are set to cast their ballots for all of the seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, a third of the seats in the U.S. Senate and over 30 governorships up for grabs.
Our Washington correspondent Priscilla Huff explains why this year, this American election is not just about the American economy.
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UPSOT Radical Islamic terrorists are threatening to cause the collapse of our country.
This attack ad from Scott Brown, running to represent New Hampshire as a Republican in the U.S. Senate....is one example of how its not just the economy, this election cycle,
its foreign policy that is on the minds of voters.
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I'd say definitely dealing with Russia and everything that's going on in the Ukraine over there would be something that we need to deal with in the foreign policy, as well as Syria and working with Isis. So it's finding someone that has a grasp of a policy and a plan going forward with that.
I'd like to be sure that we're not sticking out hands where they shouldn't be stuck. I'd like to have some sort of concerted effort towards handling the issues regarding ISIL, especially considering that's becoming more and more of an issue, as well as how we're going to be handling ebola.
Policy regarding Israel is important, as well as the policy more generally towards the Middle East, and also what's going on in eastern Europe, regarding Russia.
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From Russia's incursion into Ukraine, to the rise of ISIL and the violence in the Middle East, President Obama's been beset with a series of international crises this year…
The White House has gotten into a political battle with the governors of New York and New Jersey over the Ebola virus...
Even trained doctors, such as U-S Senator Rand Paul, a Republican from Kentucky, have been suggesting the White House has not had the people's best interests at heart when it comes to stopping the spread of the disease.
Senator Paul was interviewed by CNN's weekend current affairs programme, State of the Union.
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"We have to be very careful of people's civil liberties, but I'm also NOT saying, that the government doesn't have a role in trying to prevent contagion."
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But, the biggest foreign policy problem is the Islamic State - the jihadis fighting across Syria and Iraq.
The Obama administration has put its bet on supporting the moderate Syrian opposition to stop the militants on the ground...but just days before the American election, the very men the White House was counting on were routed.
Spokesman Josh Earnest cautioned, this is just one battle in a very long fight.
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"Moderate forces in Syria are engaged in a multi-front conflict, and that multi=front conflict is taking a toll on them, there's no doubt about that. That is in part why you have seen the administration discuss the need to ramp up the training and assistance that the United States is offering to the Syrian opposition fighters, moderate Syrian opposition fighters."
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What the Obama administration would prefer to focus on is its promised pivot to Asia.
Just days after the polls close in America, U.S. President Barack Obama is set to fly to Asia for the Asia Pacific Economic Committee meetings.
No matter the outcome of the American vote, experts here think there is bipartisan support for this policy change.
Scott Snyder, Senior Fellow, Council on Foreign Relations
00.29 I think there's bipartisan support for the rebalance policy. I think there's a recognition on Capitol Hill that we need to increase our profile in Asia.
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You find bipartisan overwhelming support for this. This is even seen as a test of the seriousness of an internationalist US foreign policy.
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That was Gilbert Rozman, Senior Fellow, Foreign Policy Research Institute
Even before the votes are counted, change is expected in Washington.
If the Republicans win control of the U.S. Senate, the critical Intelligence and Foreign Affairs committees will get new chairmen....with new foreign policy agendas.
And there's plenty of speculation about whether President Obama will make changes at the very top - including cabinet posts such as Defence Secretary or U-S Secretary of State...
although all the White House will say, is of course there will be new faces in new roles after the election.
Priscilla Huff, Washington
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