Guy Taylor
Articles by Guy Taylor
Signs point to renewed talks between U.S., North Korea
There was no substantial meeting between U.S. and North Korean officials at a key nuclear nonproliferation conference in Moscow over the weekend, but signs are emerging that talks between the two sides could resume in coming weeks. Published November 10, 2019
Robert O’Brien: Donald Trump to pressure Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Russian S-400 missiles
National Security Adviser Robert C. O'Brien claimed Sunday that President Trump will personally pressure Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to drop his country's purchase of Russian-made S-400 missiles when Mr. Erdogan visits the White House this week. Published November 10, 2019
Mark Milley, Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman: U.S. troops in Afghanistan to stay ‘several more years’
U.S. forces won't be withdrawing from Afghanistan any time soon, according to Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley, who said Sunday the mission in America's longest war will likely "be ongoing into the future for several more years." Published November 10, 2019
Kim Jong-un, Donald Trump North Korea denuclearization talks stalled
Nuclear talks with North Korea have essentially stalled for nearly eight months and, with the 2020 election season fast approaching, time could be running out for one of President Trump's most ambitious foreign policy goals. Published November 7, 2019
Mike Pompeo gets personal on visit to commemorate the fall of the Berlin Wall
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is in Germany this week to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall -- and on Thursday the trip got personal. Published November 7, 2019
Iran uranium enrichment doubled on embassy takeover anniversary
U.S.-Iran tensions escalated Monday as Tehran announced a doubling of its uranium enrichment activities in a calculated breach of the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers and the Trump administration leveled a slate of fresh sanctions targeting an inner circle of officials around Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Published November 4, 2019
U.S. hits Iranian supreme leader’s inner circle with sanctions
The Trump administration announced sanctions against 10 officials from Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei's inner circle on Monday, ramping up pressure against the Islamic republic on the 40th anniversary of its seizure of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran. Published November 4, 2019
Mohammed al-Issa warns U.S. on ending ISIS fight early
NEWSMAKER INTERVIEW: The death of Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was a major victory against Islamist extremism, but the group's warped ideology -- one that has "distorted and tried to hijack Islam" -- remains very much alive and continues to prey on youths across the Mideast and beyond. Published October 30, 2019
Donald Trump Syria withdrawal ‘not only appropriate, but overdue,’ foreign policy ‘realists’ say
Some U.S. foreign policy "realists" are cheering on President Trump's recent course change in the Middle East, saying that despite its clumsy implementation, the move cuts through contradictions at the heart of the American policy and puts the onus of regional powers to resolve Syria's eight-year-civil war and prevent an Islamic State resurgence there. Published October 17, 2019
Russian forces sweep into U.S. base abandoned in Syria
Russian forces began sweeping in to fill a security void left by withdrawing American troops in northern Syria on Tuesday, with Moscow-backed mercenaries taking control of a strategic former U.S. special operations outpost and Russian troops engaging in armored patrols as the new buffer between Turkish and Syrian armies. Published October 15, 2019
Donald Trump’s Saudi Arabia deployment undercuts bid to end ‘forever wars’
President Trump has stoked his political base by touting the withdrawal of more than 1,000 U.S. troops from Syria as keeping his 2016 campaign promise to end American involvement in foreign "forever wars." The problem is that the Pentagon's near-simultaneous deployment of some 3,000 troops and advanced missiles to Saudi Arabia is likely to trigger an escalation with Iran that could undercut Mr. Trump's determination to get the U.S. military out Middle East entanglements. Published October 14, 2019
U.S. deploying 3,000 troops, advanced equipment to Saudi Arabia
The U.S. military is significantly increasing troop deployments to Saudi Arabia, the Pentagon said Friday, announcing that 3,000 American personnel -- including two fighter squadrons and an air expeditionary wing -- will be sent to the Persian Gulf nation, as well as advanced missile defense systems. Published October 11, 2019
Kurds slam Donald Trump: ‘I want him to know he’s responsible’ for deaths, ISIS resurgence
President Trump is personally responsible for deaths and injuries sustained by U.S.-backed Kurdish fighters in northern Syria as a Turkish military assault advances, and he bears the blame for a looming resurgence of the Islamic State terror group, a spokeswoman for the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) told The Washington Times on Thursday. Published October 10, 2019
China warns Apple over ‘unwise’ support of Hong Kong protesters in wake of NBA flap
Apple found itself in the crosshairs of Chinese government anger over the pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong Wednesday, with a key state-media outlet in Beijing accusing the U.S. tech giant of promoting a mapping application for smartphones that helps protesters in Hong Kong evade police. Published October 9, 2019
U.S. restricts visas to Chinese officials involved in crackdown on Muslims
The State Department on Tuesday imposed visa restrictions on Chinese officials that Washington accuses of engaging in an abusive crackdown against Muslim ethnic minorities in northwest China. Published October 8, 2019
ISIS fighter release from prison feared after Trump Syria move
President Trump's decision to pull American forces from key posts in Syria set U.S. counterterrorism officials on edge Monday amid concern that the move will lead to the headlong release of thousands of hardened Islamic State fighters from makeshift prison camps there. Published October 7, 2019
U.S. calls for patience as N. Korea claims new talks ‘broke down’ already
The much-anticipated resumption of stalled nuclear negotiations with North Korea got off to a rocky start Saturday, with Pyongyang saying talks had collapsed within hours, while U.S. officials claimed there were "good discussions" and expressed hope for another round later this month. Published October 5, 2019
Mike Pompeo, State Department under scrutiny in Trump-Ukraine furor
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo came to Foggy Bottom last year vowing to get the State Department "its swagger back," a motto that was music to the ears of career diplomats after the plunging morale that had gripped the department during the brief tenure of President Trump's first secretary of state, Rex Tillerson. Published October 3, 2019
North Korea seeks to twist U.S. arm in talks with sub-launched ballistic missile test
North Korea's test Wednesday of what was believed to be a submarine-launched ballistic missile was a strategic move by Pyongyang to gain an upper hand over the U.S. in nuclear talks slated to restart this weekend after a months-long stall, national security insiders said. Published October 2, 2019
U.S., North Korea weigh strategy as talks resume
U.S. negotiators will push their North Korean counterparts for concrete steps toward denuclearization in exchange for limited counter steps by Washington when the two sides meet this weekend for their first working-level talks since February's failed Hanoi summit between President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. Published October 1, 2019