Guy Taylor
Articles by Guy Taylor
Authorities move toward terrorism as motive in San Bernardino rampage
Law enforcement authorities edged closer Thursday to the conclusion that the Muslim husband and wife team that carried out the mass shooting in San Bernardino, California, may have been radicalized by Islamic extremists either in the U.S. or during trips the couple made to the Middle East, including to Saudi Arabia. Published December 3, 2015
Jon Kyl, Joe Lieberman report: ‘Why American Leadership Still Matters’ around world
The world needs the U.S. to lead -- and not just from behind -- according to a report by two influential former senators, who argue that political pressure on the Obama administration from the far left and far right for America to disengage from the world has created a power vacuum that unpredictable and unsavory actors are all too eager to fill. Published December 2, 2015
Iran violates nuclear deal with lies to U.N. inspectors, report claims
Iran is deliberately trying to deceive U.N. inspectors in charge of implementing last summer's nuclear deal, according to a prominent Iranian dissident group, which claims that Tehran has created a "top-secret committee" to provide false information to the watchdog International Atomic Energy Agency. Published December 2, 2015
Dissidents claim Iran has ‘secret committee’ to deceive nuke inspectors
Iran is deliberately trying to deceive U.N. inspectors in charge of implementing last summer's nuclear deal, according to a prominent Iranian dissident group, which claims that Tehran has created a "top secret committee" to provide false information to the International Atomic Energy Agency. Published December 2, 2015
Ed Royce claims Iran to hit ‘jackpot’ with sanctions relief
While a key Republican on foreign policy says Iran about to hit the "jackpot" of sanctions relief, a former top Obama administration counterterrorism official argues that Iran can be trusted to not use money for expanding its military proxy and terrorist-support operations in the Middle East, asserting that Tehran makes "rational calculations about advancing its interests." Published December 2, 2015
Montenegro invited to join NATO, a move sure to anger Russia, strain alliance’s standards
NATO formally invited Montenegro into the alliance on Wednesday in a move likely to further roil relations between Russia and the West -- even as some critics on both sides of the Atlantic assert the tiny Balkan nation has failed to meet political and rule of law standards that were once mandatory for membership in the world's most powerful military club. Published December 1, 2015
Obama anti-ISIS coalition crumbles as Arab allies focus elsewhere
The major Arab powers once deemed essential to the fight against the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq have largely pulled back from the U.S.-led military campaign, undercutting the Obama administration's claims about the depth and reach of the coalition it has built with allies in the region. Published November 30, 2015
Iraq Shiite government reigns at other tribes’ peril
Despite the installation of a new U.S.-backed Shiite prime minister in Baghdad more than a year ago, the Iraqi central government's treatment of the nation's Sunni majority still has not improved. Published November 26, 2015
Vladimir Putin orders S-400 missiles to Syria after Turkey downs Russian jet
Russia announced plans Wednesday to deploy long-range surface-to-air missiles at its air base near the Syria-Turkey border to destroy any target that threatens its warplanes in the area — an angry response to Turkey's downing of a Russian fighter jet, which raised fears of a direct clash between Russia and NATO. Published November 25, 2015
Russian jet shot down by Turkey ramps up Syria tension
The downing of a Russian fighter jet by Turkey raised the complex tensions around Syria's multisided civil war to new heights Tuesday, putting more pressure on the Obama administration to take a more aggressive leadership role in the conflict to head off a further escalation between Moscow and Ankara. Published November 24, 2015
Iraq’s Sunni sheikhs decry lack of U.S. help in ISIS fight, say Russia eager to fill void
Key tribal leaders from Iraq's Sunni Arab population say U.S. officials have failed to work with them in the fight against the Islamic State and assert that Russia is now increasingly eager to fill the void -- even inviting influential sheikhs to visit Moscow and air their grievances. Published November 23, 2015
Abdelhamid Abaaoud killed, but his travels worry intel experts
European and U.S. intelligence officials expressed alarm that the supposed architect of the deadly Paris attacks last week was able to slip so easily back and forth between Syria and the heart of Western Europe, even as French officials confirmed Thursday that the Islamic State terrorist Abdelhamid Abaaoud had been killed in a raid in a Paris suburb. Published November 19, 2015
Vladimir Putin’s help in Islamic State fight seen likely to come with strings attached
Western sanctions and international outrage over the invasion of Ukraine were supposed to leave Russian President Vladimir Putin isolated and weakened on the world stage, but that was before the surge of international attacks by the Islamic State found President Obama and other Western leaders suddenly in need of Moscow's help. Published November 18, 2015
France, Russia join forces, strike ISIS targets in Syria
France and Russia engaged in unprecedented joint strikes against Islamic State targets in Syria on Tuesday, the latest in a flurry of diplomatic and military fallout from the deadly terrorist strikes in Paris last week. Published November 17, 2015
Abdelhamid Abaaoud: Questions surround supposed Paris assault mastermind
The Belgian man of Moroccan descent fingered by French authorities as the mastermind of the Paris attacks is believed to be operating from Syria with the Islamic State, but U.S. officials say his ties to the terror group's leaders are unclear and that other jihadis, based in Europe, likely also played central roles in plotting the attacks. Published November 16, 2015
John Brennan, CIA chief, issues comments on ISIS harsher than Obama’s
Taking a noticeably darker tone than President Obama, CIA Director John O. Brennan warned Monday that the Paris terrorist attacks were not "a one-off event" and that intelligence officials anticipate the Islamic State has other sophisticated plots "in the pipeline." Published November 16, 2015
Paris terror attacks: Islamic State’s sophistication shakes Western leaders
The Paris terrorist attacks featured three separate teams backed by a support network stretching across several European nations -- bearing a level of operational sophistication and capability that Islamist terrorists have not shown in the West in the decade or so since al Qaeda's four-plane Sept. 11 attacks on the U.S. and the four-bomb London transport attacks of 2005. Published November 15, 2015
Paris attacks show high level of sophistication, was kept secret
The coordinated Paris attacks required a level of operational sophistication that Islamic extremist terrorists have not shown in Europe since the London suicide attacks in 2005 when four separate bombs, detonated in quick succession, targeted civilians on mass transit in the British capital. Published November 14, 2015
John Kerry: Syria talks shrouded in uncertainty
Secretary of State John F. Kerry says the Obama administration will not step back from its demand that the Assad regime relinquish power in Syria, but he simply does not know whether Russia and Iran -- the regime's top backers -- will accept the mandate. Published November 12, 2015
Obama administration maintains hope for ‘Sunni Awakening 2.0’ in Islamic State fight
The Obama administration admits its push for a "Sunni Awakening 2.0" to break the Islamic State's grip on Iraq's western Anbar province has gone more slowly than hoped, but officials say they're not giving up on the effort. Published November 10, 2015
