Guy Taylor
Articles by Guy Taylor
Aung San Suu Kyi’s party wins Myanmar elections, makes history
Vote tallying was still going on Monday night, but Myanmar's pro-democracy opposition leaders were claiming an overwhelming victory in the nation's historic elections -- a development likely to expand opportunities for trade and diplomacy with the U.S., as concerns persist over the Southeast Asian nation's human rights record. Published November 9, 2015
Obama pushes military frustration to highest level in decades
Key lawmakers from both parties say frustration with the White House among the top military officers is at its highest level in decades, the product of President Obama's cautious approach to the wars in Syria and Iraq and an indecisive inner circle of White House advisers who, critics say, have iced the Pentagon out of the policymaking process. Published November 5, 2015
Russian jet crash in Egypt likely caused by bomb, U.S. and British officials say
Officials in the U.S. and Britain said Wednesday that it was likely a bomb that took down the Russian passenger jet Saturday on Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, as the Islamic State again took credit for the crash, which killed more than 200 people. Published November 4, 2015
U.S. says 90 percent of Russian strikes hitting Syria’s moderate opposition
While Moscow asserts that its military campaign in Syria is aggressively targeting the Islamic State, a top U.S. State Department official said Wednesday that as much as 90 percent of strikes carried out by the Russian fighter jets over the past month have actually hit moderate opposition rebels groups in the war-torn nation. Published November 4, 2015
Kurds seek supplies for peshmerga winter fight against Islamic State
Kurdish peshmerga fighters who have proved the most effective force against the Islamic State have not been paid for the past three months and badly need winter gear and ammunition if they are to hold ground seized from the extremists over the past year, a top Kurdish intelligence official said Tuesday. Published November 3, 2015
James Clapper: Islamic State may have taken down Russian plane in Egypt
America's top spy said Monday there is not yet any "direct evidence" that terrorists took down the Russian charter flight over Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, but he would not rule out the possibility that the Islamic State -- also known as ISIL -- has the capability to shoot a plane out of the sky in the region. Published November 2, 2015
Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s party re-secures majority in Turkish vote
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's nationalist and Islamist political party pulled off a stunning victory in the nation's snap election Sunday, winning enough seats to again secure dominance over parliament just five months after losing its long-held majority. Published November 1, 2015
Iran responsible for deadly rocket attack on Camp Liberty in Iraq, dissidents say
An Iranian dissident group said more than 20 of its members in Iraq were killed Thursday when a barrage of Iranian-made rockets slammed into a former U.S. military base near Baghdad where Iraqi authorities have kept the dissidents in a state of semi-captivity for years. Published October 29, 2015
Recep Tayyip Erdogan determined to retain power regardless of Turkey election results
Turkey's second general election in five months is unlikely to resolve the nation's deep political crisis, as observers say President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is doubling down on the heavy-handed tactics that have kept him in power for the past 12 years even if his ruling party fails again Sunday to secure a majority. Published October 28, 2015
Iran to attend Syria talks in Vienna
Iran will be at the table for the first time as diplomats from the United States and other world powers gather in Vienna Thursday for new talks aimed at ending Syria's civil war, marking the end of a long effort by Washington to freeze out Iran because of Tehran's support for Syrian President Bashar Assad. Published October 28, 2015
Iran confirms it will attend Syria peace talks among world powers
Iranian state television reported on Wednesday that the nation's top diplomat will participate for the first time in Syrian peace talks carried out between world powers -- including the U.S. -- in Vienna, Austria. Published October 28, 2015
Hillary Clinton says Libya chaos shows consequences of U.S. withdrawal from unstable places
While all eyes in Washington watch the clash between former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and House Republicans over events in Benghazi four years ago, chaos reigns in Libya, where two separate governments battle for control. Islamists are in control in the capital city of Tripoli, and Islamic State militants are expanding their hold on cities and towns across the country. Published October 22, 2015
Obama, Nawza Sharif discuss enhancing military-to-military relationship between U.S., Pakistan
President Obama and Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif tried to project the image of an alliance in lock step during a summit at the White House Thursday, despite a range of sticky security disagreements over Pakistan's role in the Afghan war and U.S. concerns over Islamabad's growing nuclear weapons arsenal. Published October 22, 2015
Obama, Nawaz Sharif to weigh Afghanistan’s future
Islamabad's growing nuclear weapons arsenal, its deepening relations with China and the prospect of a homegrown Pakistani drone war against extremists along the Afghan border will all be on the table when Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif visits the White House on Thursday. Published October 21, 2015
U.S. wary as Iran, Russia step up Iraq role
The visit to Iraq this week by new Joint Chiefs of Staff head Gen. Joseph Dunford comes at a pivotal moment for the Obama administration's tacit strategy of cooperating with Iranian proxies against the Islamic State in the nation, even as officials in Baghdad claimed a key oil refinery had been retaken from the jihadi forces on Tuesday. Published October 20, 2015
Iran dissidents say U.S. policies are appeasing Islamist rulers
When the doorbell rang, it was longer and harder than normal, like someone was ramming an angry finger on the button. Then the window suddenly was smashed and the police were inside the house. Published October 18, 2015
Park Geun-hye of South Korea eyes alliance with U.S., China to address North Korea threat
South Korean President Park Guen-hye, who meets Friday with President Obama, is pushing for a deeper three-way alliance among Washington, Seoul and Beijing to address the threat posed by North Korea and to open the way for an eventual reunification of the long divided Korean Peninsula. Published October 15, 2015
Leopoldo Cintras Frias, Cuban military chief, visits Syria
The head of Cuba's armed forces recently traveled to Syria, according to a Miami-based research group that claims a cadre of defense officials from the communist island have been dispatched to join Russia's growing military operations in support of Syrian President Bashar Assad. Published October 14, 2015
Israeli-Palestinian violence escalates, approaches 2014 Gaza Strip war levels
With tensions and violence soaring to their highest points in nearly a year, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel's security forces will "extract the full price" from Palestinians who have carried out attacks on innocent Israelis. Published October 13, 2015
Obama to host Park Geun-hye as South Korea’s growing ties to China threaten alliance
President Obama is expected to highlight this week's U.S. visit by South Korean President Park Geun-hye as an example of the rock-solid alliance between Washington and Seoul -- but a range of sticky issues will lurk in the backdrop behind Ms. Park's visit to the White House at week's end. Published October 12, 2015
