Opinion: Iraq invasion, not withdrawal, was gift to Iran: What We're Reading Now
Oct 28, 2011

IRAN
Demands Grow for Action Against Alleged Iranian Plot
Sara Sorcher, Global Security Newswire -- October 27, 2011
As Republicans on the House Homeland Security Committee demanded that the Obama administration take more serious action against Iran for its alleged role in the purported plot to assassinate the Saudi Arabian ambassador and bomb embassies in Washington, witnesses testifying before two key subcommittees on Wednesday called for everything from killing senior members of Iran’s elite Quds Force to limited cyberattacks within Iran.

Iraq invasion, not withdrawal, was gift to Iran
Tony Karon, TIME/CNN -- October 27, 2011
Outlandish posturing on foreign policy matters is par for the course in a U.S. electoral season, but the claim that President Barack Obama will deliver Iraq on a plate to Iran by honoring the U.S. treaty obligation to withdraw American troops by New Year's Day is worth closer scrutiny.

Iran pulls out of diplomatic event
ESPN -- October 27, 2011
North and South Korea and India and Pakistan are among 10 nations competing in the latest version of pingpong diplomacy, but Iran backed out of a chance to compete alongside American players.

NORTH KOREA
Panetta Voices Skepticism on North Korea Talks
Elisabeth Bumiller, The New York Times -- October 27, 2011
Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta cast doubt on Thursday on talks aimed at persuading North Korea to abandon its nuclear program despite more positive public comments from negotiators for both countries earlier this week.

North Korea bans citizens working in Libya from returning home
Julian Ryall, The Telegraph -- October 27, 2011
North Korea has banned its own citizens working in Libya from returning home, apparently out of fear that they will reveal the extent - and final outcomes - of the revolutions that have shaken the Arab world.

Opinion: To deal with Iran’s nuclear future, go back to 2008: What We're Reading Now
Oct 27, 2011

IRAN
Opinion: To deal with Iran’s nuclear future, go back to 2008
Fareed Zakaria, Washington Post -- October 27, 2011
Early in the 2008 presidential campaign, Barack Obama signaled that he was going to break with the Bush administration’s Manichean foreign policy. The topic was Iran. He explained repeatedly that the Bush policy of simply pressuring Iran was not working and that he would be willing to talk to the country’s leaders to find ways to reduce tensions and dangers.

IAEA Pressed to Publish Less Iran Nuclear Data, Diplomats Say
Global Security Newswire -- October 26, 2011
Diplomatic sources on Tuesday affirmed reports that the International Atomic Energy Agency is facing pressure from China and Russia to tone down or withhold a forthcoming safeguards assessment expected to include data reflecting a possible Iranian effort to establish a nuclear deterrent, Agence France-Presse reported.

NORTH KOREA
Diplomacy with North Korea Takes Center Stage in Seoul
Steve Herman, Voice of America -- October 27, 2011
The South Korean capital is again the focal point for intensified diplomacy concerning North Korea and its nuclear weapons and missile development.

Pentagon chief says he doubts North Korea will give up on nuclear ambitions
Washington Post -- October 27, 2011
U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said Thursday he is skeptical that diplomacy will push North Korea to give up its nuclear program, and he raised the prospect of the North’s stance leading to “escalation and confrontation.”