Despite deep worries over the continuing stability of the Iraqi government, the U.S. is planning on selling $11 billion of arms and training to Iraq's military. The sale comes as Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki has attempted to marginalize Iraq's Sunni minority since the U.S. withdrew its forces earlier in the month, setting off concerns over civil war. The Obama administration hopes the sale, which includes tanks and fighter jets, will help Iraq build its military and secure its border with Iran. But some American officials worry Iraq's government will move to align itself with the Shiite theocracy in Tehran.

After fierce internal debate, the White House has decided to allow Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh to travel to the United States to seek medical treatment, The New York Times reported on Monday. The decision is expected to be met with controversy. Many Yemenis want to see Saleh prosecuted for the deaths of hundreds of anti-government demonstrators who were killed protesting his decades-long rule. The Obama administration hopes removing Saleh from Yemen will help clear a path for democratic elections next year. Hakim Almasari, editor of The Yemen Post, reacts to the decision from Sana'a.

Within hours of announcing North Korean dictator Kim Jong-il's death on Sunday, the country's ruling Workers' Party released a statement saying North Korea would unite Kim's youngest son, Kim Jong-un. Not much is known about Kim Jong-un, who was named his father's heir apparent last year. He is believed to be in his late twenties, and apparently went to boarding school in Switzerland. Whether the younger Kim will be able to maintain control of his country and stick to his father's brand of hard-line Communism remains to be seen. The older Kim left North Korea's economy in shambles, and thousands of people are believed to be starving.

The Takeaway continues its coverage of the death of North Korean dictator Kim Jong-il with a look at his life and legacy with two men who have been close North Korea observers for years. Stephen Bosworth, former U.S. ambassador to South Korea, served as the special representative for North Korea policy. Michael Breen is the author of one of the few English language biographies of Kim, "Kim Jong-il: North Korea's Dear Leader."

Kim Jong-il, the North Korean dictator who made his isolated country a nuclear power, died on Saturday of a heart attack at age 69. State media kept the death a secret for nearly two days, suggesting a possible leadership vacuum. North Korea's ruling Workers' Party released a statement suggesting that Kim's youngest son, Kim Jong-un, had succeeded his father. North Korea conducted a short-range missile test on Monday, according to unconfirmed reports from South Korea.

He ruled North Korea with an iron fist for 17 years. His infamous isolationism and nuclear ambitions made him a part of George W. Bush's notorious "Axis of Evil." He was one of the last Communist leaders in the world around whom a cult of personality existed. But how Kim Jong-il, the North Korean dictator, will be truly be remembered by his people is yet to be seen. Referred to as "Dear Leader," Kim sank his country into deep famine and ravaged its economy. Though media images out of North Korea may show people weeping in the streets, it's hard to know whether there is real grief behind the tears.

In a possibly historic move, the Obama administration announced its dedication to promoting LGBT rights around the world. In a memorandum from the president, and a speech from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at a meeting of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, the administration equated LGBT rights with human right, vowing to spend $3 million to finance LGBT rights organizations. "In reality, gay people are born into — and belong to — every society in the world," Clinton said to an audience of representatives of 47 nations, who gave her a standing ovation. (Watch the speech after the jump.)

For years, relations between the U.S. and Myanmar have been frozen. Myanmar is one of the least developed countries in the world, with systematic human rights violations, rampant child labor, and a health care system that has been ranked by the World Health Organization as the worst in the world. But a historic visit by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to the isolated country this week may represent a late thaw. In a step that could transform American diplomacy in the region, the U.S. and Myanmar are considering exchanging ambassadors.

It was only a few years ago the Bush administration labeled Myanmar "an outpost of tyranny." But on Wednesday, Hillary Clinton became the first secretary of state to visit the repressive and isolated nation in 50 years. The Obama administration has been keen on engaging with the military-backed civilian government of Myanmar after the country made some significant democratic reforms. In the past year, elections were held for a nominally civilian government, and pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi was released from house arrest after two decades. Yet even as changes take hold in Rangoon, persecution against the country's ethnic minorities continue.

A year after being released from two decades of house arrest, pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi announced she will return to politics and run for a seat in Myanmar's Parliament. Her National League for Democracy party plans to contest all 48 vacant seats in Parliament. The NLD boycotted Myanmar's last election, its first in 20 years, because Suu Kyi was banned from running for office by the military-backed government. Hours before the announcement, President Obama said Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will travel to Myanmar, making her the first secretary of state in 50 years to do so.

Two years after Americans Shane Bauer and Joshua Fattal were captured by the Iranian government while hiking along the Iran-Iraq border and charged with espionage, their lawyer says they may be freed on Wednesday. The news comes a week after Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told The Today Show that the hikers would be freed, only to be rebuffed by Iran's judiciary, which said only it could release the prisoners. Now, Masoud Shafiei, the Iranian lawyer acting on behalf of Bauer and Fattal, says he expects his client to be "freed today."

The State Department has confirmed that two Americans who have been imprisoned in Iran have been released. Shane Bauer and Joshua Fattal were captured by the Iranian government while hiking along the Iran-Iraq border and charged with espionage two years ago. The fate of the two men has been unclear since last week when, a day after President Mahmoud Amadinedjad told The Today Show that the hikers would be freed, Iran's judiciary said Ahmadinejad had no authority to release them. The men were released on $1 million bail.

The State Department has confirmed that two Americans who have been imprisoned in Iran have been released. Shane Bauer and Joshua Fattal were captured by while hiking along the Iran-Iraq border and charged with espionage two years ago. Over the last two years since their arrest, numerous diplomats, politicians, and NGOs have advocated on behalf of Bauer and Fattal, pressing Iran to release the men. One of the groups that have worked tirelessly on the case is Search for Common Ground. William Miller, a former U.S. ambassador, is a senior adviser to Search for Common Ground, and talks about his advocacy on behalf of the detainees. Nihad Awad, president of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, was part of a delegation trying to get the hikers released.

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Jeffrey Feltman arrived in Libya on Wednesday to meet with leaders of the National Transition Council, saying that the U.S. has "an enduring commitment to support the Libyan people as they chart their country's future." French President Nicholas Sarkozy and British Prime Minister David Cameron also arrived on Thursday morning. Elsewhere in the region, diplomatic ties have broken down between Israel and its closest Arab allies, Turkey and Egypt, as the Palestinian Authority makes a bid for statehood before the United Nations.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy and British Prime Minister David Cameron are hosting Libya's National Transitional Council (NTC) at a summit with world leaders in Paris today. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is in attendance, as are representatives from China and Russia. The NTC, Libya's transitional government, is expected to ask for international aid for providing security and request that Libyan assets in foreign banks be unfrozen.

U.S. Ambassador to Syria Robert Ford made an unannounced visit to the city of Hama yesterday. Ford apparently traveled to Hama on his own to show solidarity with the four month uprising against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Anthony Shadid of The New York Times reports on Ford's trip from Beirut, Lebanon.

The debate continues over how the international community should respond to events in Libya, where Col. Moammar Gadhafi has been killing rebel forces and Libyan civilians. There are, of course, many risks to imposing a no-fly zone, which would a significant military commitment in the region and, already, some high-level military officials have warned against that. But more and more people in Washington and in the Middle East are seeing a distressing scenario in Libya that calls for intervention. Is a no-fly zone the best way to intervene?

The United States is considering a range of options to deal with Libya, including military action and sanctions. However, there's another possibility for Libya: an information campaign and the Pentagon has reportedly explored at the option of jamming Libya's communications so that Gadhafi has a harder time talking to his forces. Matt Armstrong, lecturer on public diplomacy at the USC Annenberg School of Communication and Journalism and publisher of  the blog MountainRunner.us, takes a closer look at how an information campaign might work in Libya.

The State Department remains tight-lipped on the role of the American man recently arrested in Pakistan for murder. The man in question, Raymond Davis, was suspected of being a spy. The Obama administration claimed that Davis had diplomatic immunity and should be set free from Pakistani custody. Last Friday, P.J. Crowley, State Department Spokesman would only say to The Takeaway that Davis is a U.S. Diplomat entitled to diplomatic immunity. You can hear that interview here. But reports out yesterday confirm that Davis was working in a part of a C.I.A. team, as an independent contractor. Either way, what does the case of Raymond Davis mean for the U.S. Pakistan relationship? 

With the United States engaged in wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and facing diplomatic standoffs with nations like Cuba and Venezuela, Americans can tend to feel culturally isolated from some countries. A new business in Pittsburgh is trying to change that - through food. The Conflict Kitchen serves meals from countries that America finds diplomatically tricky, and by doing so, hopes to bring further awareness about cultures that might otherwise seem foreign. The BBC shares the story.