WASHINGTON, Nov. 8 (Xinhua) -- The United States must increase its use of "smart power" foreign-policy tools by pouring money into alliances and institutions that will improve America's influence and legitimacy worldwide, a think tank said.

    That requires a shift from the current U.S. policy, which relies too much on so-called "hard power," the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) said in a report formally released here Thursday.

    "There are limits to what hard power can achieve," it said. Instead, it said the United States should cultivate "smart power," an "integrated strategy, resource base and tool kit to achieve American objectives, drawing on both hard and soft power."

    The report was compiled by a panel of current and former lawmakers and former national security officials.

    Washington must continue to have a strong military, but federal officials must spend "heavily on alliances, partnerships and institutions at all levels to expand American influence and establish the legitimacy of American action," the report noted.

    "We don't do that well right now," said CSIS President and CEO John Hamre, a former deputy defense secretary.

    The panel that compiled the report was co-chaired by Richard Armitage, former deputy undersecretary of state and Joseph Nye, a former Pentagon and State Department senior official.

    The panel also featured a number of longtime Washington officials and lawmakers, including Betty McCollum (D-Minn); Anthony Zinni, former U.S. Central Command Commander; Mac Thornberry (R-Texas); and former Sen. Nancy Kassebaum Baker (R-Kan).