Guy Taylor
Articles by Guy Taylor
Biden to stress strengthening alliances before fraught Putin summit
President Biden arrived in England on Wednesday for his first foreign trip, telling U.S. troops at an air base that he's on a mission to reinforce alliances with the world's leading democracies before his showdown next week with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Published June 9, 2021
Full agenda, alliance repair top Biden’s Europe to-do list
President Biden embarked on his first foreign trip Wednesday hoping to revamp transatlantic ties, forge a vaccine strategy for the COVID-19 fight and unite the world's most economically advanced democracies to fight Russian and Chinese geopolitical provocations and a rising menace in cyberspace. Published June 9, 2021
Blinken pressed on alleged Soros link to U.S. moves in Balkans
A key Republican on Capitol Hill grilled Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday for an explanation of why the State Department has not produced evidence to back up its corruption allegations against former Albanian Prime Minister Sali Berisha, a one-time high-profile ally of U.S. efforts to promote democracy in the Balkans. Published June 7, 2021
Co-founder vows to strengthen Washington Times’ position as defender of American values
The co-founder of The Washington Times praised the publication's legacy in remarks over the weekend, vowing to strengthen its global reach and position as a defender of American values and leadership in the decades to come. Published June 7, 2021
Intel says Putin supports ransomware attacks on U.S.; Biden admin. caught flat-footed
Organized cybercriminals emboldened by autocrats -- most prominently Russian President Vladimir Putin -- have caught Washington flat-footed with a rising tide of ransomware and other hacking operations that intelligence sources say have the dual aim of weakening the U.S. economy while gaining geopolitical leverage over Washington on the world stage. Published June 7, 2021
EXCLUSIVE: Biden not seeking to add countries to Quad to counter China
Biden administration officials say they are not pushing to add other countries to the strategic U.S.-India-Japan-Australia "Quad" group but stress that the future of American policy in the Indo-Pacific region hinges on the deepening alignment among the four powerful democracies to counter authoritarian China's increasingly aggressive rise on the world stage. Published June 6, 2021
Kim Yo-jong, Kim Jong-un’s sister, likely being formally elevated in secretive N.K. regime
A high-level change within North Korea's notoriously secretive regime has triggered new speculation that Kim Jong-un may be on the verge of formally anointing his younger sister as his No. 2 so that she can officially take control of the government should he die or fall terminally ill. Published June 2, 2021
Recent Mideast clash highlights Iran backing of Palestinian militants
Israeli forces and Palestinian militants issued competing declarations of victory after the horrific 11-day war that shook the Middle East through mid-May, but there are concerns among some in Washington that Iran gained the most from clash on the tactical and strategic levels. Published May 30, 2021
Sali Berisha, ex-Albanian leader, rejects U.S. charges of corruption
Former Albanian Prime Minister Sali Berisha insists there is "zero evidence" behind corruption allegations that Secretary of State Antony Blinken leveled against him recently, asserting the decision to bar him from entering the U.S. was based on "misinformation" from outfits backed by billionaire philanthropist and investor George Soros. Published May 28, 2021
Hill fight stymies drive to monitor Chinese money in U.S. universities
A backroom fight on Capitol Hill over increased government scrutiny of Chinese gifts to U.S. universities took a fresh twist Wednesday, with a key Republican pushing anew to give a key executive branch panel greater enforcement powers to examine the issue to crack down on abuses. Published May 26, 2021
Michael McCaul seeks Alexander Lukashenko punishment for bogus threat to arrest opposition activist
A key House Republican joined the chorus of media freedom advocates blaming Belarus' authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko for engineering a bogus bomb threat and scrambling a fighter jet to arrest a key opposition activist-journalist on Sunday. Published May 23, 2021
Antony Blinken says Hamas offers ruin for Palestinians
The Biden administration elevated its criticism of Hamas over the weekend, as a cease-fire between Israeli forces and the militant Palestinian group that controls the Gaza Strip appeared to be holding for a third consecutive day. Published May 23, 2021
Germans celebrate, critics slam Biden’s Nord Stream 2 pipeline retreat
Germany officials were celebrating and some on Capitol Hill were fuming as the Biden administration confirmed it was effectively dropping U.S. efforts to block the nearly-completed Nord Stream 2 pipeline supplying Russian natural gas directly to Germany. Published May 19, 2021
China threat looms large as South Korea’s Moon prepares for Biden summit
President Biden will privately pressure South Korean President Moon Jae-in to sign on to a strong statement critical of China when Mr. Moon visits the White House on Friday, but he will likely face resistance over South Korean fears that it would trigger an economic backlash from Beijing. Published May 19, 2021
Joe Biden drops bid to block Russian-German Nord Stream 2 pipeline: Report
The Biden White House has reportedly decided to effectively drop efforts to block the nearly-completed Nord Stream 2 pipeline supplying Russian natural gas directly to Germany, according to a new report, despite vows from top administration officials to prevent the pipeline's completion. Published May 18, 2021
Iran’s FM Mohammad Javad Zarif meets with pope about Israeli-Palestinian violence: Report
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif sought to win Pope Francis' support for Tehran's perspective on the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian violence during a private meeting between the two at the Vatican on Monday. Published May 17, 2021
Israeli strike kills Palestinian commander as cease-fire calls mount
Fresh Israeli strikes on Gaza on Monday killed a top military official of Palestinian Islamic Jihad, which the State Department considers an Iranian-backed terrorist group blamed for some of the thousands of rockets launched at Israeli in recent days. Published May 17, 2021
Biden warned against cozying-up to socialist Maduro
Venezuela's socialist president, Nicolas Maduro, is offering an unexpected diplomatic olive branch to Washington now that Democrats control the White House, but the Biden administration faces pressure at home not to weaken the campaign that former President Trump built against Caracas. Published May 10, 2021
Trump-era officials join leaders to promote world peace
Top officials of the former Trump administration joined other world leaders for a summit over the weekend to promote world peace and mobilize hope behind efforts to end the North Korean nuclear crisis and the decades-old conflict between North and South Korea. Published May 9, 2021
General: China’s Africa outreach poses threat from Atlantic
China is moving behind-the-scenes toward establishing a major naval port on the west coast of Africa that would host Chinese submarines and aircraft carriers capable of projecting Beijing's military power directly into the Atlantic, a top U.S. military official warned on Thursday. Published May 6, 2021