Guy Taylor
Articles by Guy Taylor
Iran’s nuclear progress prompts call for tighter sanctions from top Democrat
The top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee said Wednesday that new findings by the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency show the need for Washington to significantly broaden U.S. sanctions on Iran in order to prevent the Islamic republic from developing a nuclear weapon. Published August 28, 2013
Attack on Syria likely to trigger terrorists acts against U.S., Israel
With the White House closer to launching a surgical military strike on Syria, questions swirl over the extent to which such an attack could trigger a wave of terrorism directed at the U.S. and Israel. Published August 26, 2013
Obama girds for response against Syria; Kerry: Chemical attack against civilians a ‘moral obscenity’
Secretary of State John F. Kerry declared Monday that a chemical weapons attack on civilians in Syria was undeniable and an act of "moral obscenity." Published August 26, 2013
4 sent back to work after missteps on Benghazi
Secretary of State John F. Kerry has reinstated four employees implicated in security lapses from last year's terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya, drawing sharp rebukes Tuesday from leading Republicans who said the moves mean nobody has been fired or held accountable. Published August 20, 2013
Obama’s foreign policy fails to gain footing in renewed Middle East
The Middle East pro-democracy movement hailed over the past two years as the Arab Spring was transformed Wednesday when the military junta now controlling Egypt opened a bloody assault on protesters — a Tiananmen Square-style crackdown that seemed to expose the limits of American diplomatic power to pursue lofty goals once envisioned for the region. Published August 14, 2013
NSA leaker Edward Snowden heats up simmering security debate to boil
Some call him a patriot whistleblower, while others say he is neither patriot nor whistleblower — and may be even a traitor. Either way, Edward Snowden has become a Rorschach test for how Americans young and old see their government and how it balances security with privacy. Published August 14, 2013
Obama’s drone strategy covers new legal, moral ground
The Obama administration departed from its drone strategy when it filed secret criminal charges against men suspected of carrying out last year's attack in Benghazi, Libya, but the tactic works, analysts say, only if the U.S. can get its hands on the men. Published August 11, 2013
Rohrabacher backs Obama policy on drone strikes
A senior Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Friday praised the Obama administration's policy of using of drones in the evolving war on terrorism, saying he has no problem with the precedent being set by the legally controversial policy and would not be bothered if other world powers — specifically Russia — began using drones to kill terrorists. Published August 9, 2013
Under pressure, Obama administration files first charges in Benghazi attack
The Justice Department has filed criminal charges against Libyan militia leader Ahmed Khatallah, the first indictment in last year's deadly terrorist attack on a U.S. diplomatic post in Benghazi — signaling a shift in a case whose political undertones have roiled the Obama administration over the past 11 months. Published August 6, 2013
Terrorist scare tests Obama’s campaign claim; not far on the ‘path to defeat’
Even as the White House insisted that the U.S. has made great strides in the war against terrorism under President Obama, the president's spokesman acknowledged Monday that officials cannot rule out the possibility that the latest terrorist plot apparently discussed between top al Qaeda operatives could jeopardize the U.S. homeland. Published August 5, 2013
No Benghazi link in embassy shutdown order, State Department says
The Obama administration's decision to shutter 20 embassies and consulates across the Arab world this week had nothing to do with the deadly attack on a U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya, last year, State Department officials insisted Monday, while offering little new information on what prompted the extraordinary security measures. Published August 5, 2013
Kerry seeks Israeli-Palestinian agreement by April
Secretary of State John F. Kerry set an ambitious schedule Tuesday for new peace talks between Israel and Palestine, saying the goal is to achieve a "final-status agreement" between the two sides by the end of April. Published July 30, 2013
Amid Mideast revolt, a chance for Israeli-Palestinian peace
As Israeli and Palestinian negotiators met at a State Department dinner Monday night for their first direct talks in more than three years, some in Washington's foreign policy community said ongoing meltdowns in other Middle Eastern nations may have created a rare window for peace between the two sides. Published July 29, 2013
Benghazi talking points not shared with Clinton, Nuland says
Former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton played no direct role in shaping the Obama administration's infamous "talking points" on the Benghazi attacks, the State Department's former head of communications told lawmakers Thursday. Published July 11, 2013
Benghazi response may encourage more jihadist attacks in N. Africa
The U.S. should prepare for future terrorist attacks in North Africa that would be even more difficult to police than last year's assault that left four Americans dead in the Eastern Libyan city of Benghazi, counter-terrorism specialists said Wednesday. Published July 10, 2013
Key witness missing from House hearing on Iranian terror network
House Republicans this week accused Argentina of trying to block their investigation into suspected Iranian ties to terrorism in the Western Hemisphere by refusing to let an Argentinian prosecutor testify on the matter Tuesday. Published July 9, 2013
‘Coup’ in Egypt would put U.S. in a delicate dilemma over aid
The White House was careful Monday to avoid calling Egypt's regime change a "coup," underscoring the dilemma President Obama faces as he tries to manage a thorny conflict between the Egyptian military's actions and U.S. law, which bans aid to countries where a coup has taken place. Published July 8, 2013
Private talks hint at change in U.S.-Cuba relationship
The State Department has quietly been holding talks with a small but diverse cadre of Cuban natives in Washington — including democracy activists offering insider views of the communist island's politics — that analysts say could send shock waves through the long-standing debate about what a future U.S. policy toward Cuba should look like. Published July 4, 2013
U.S. denies taking sides in Egyptian politics amid Morsi protests
The State Department firmly resisted taking a side in Egypt's ongoing political crisis Tuesday and rejected a new report that Obama administration officials had urged Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi to hold shock elections in the Mideast nation. Published July 2, 2013
House Democrats join Republicans in calling for tougher action on Iran
In a broad show of bipartisan support for containing the threat of a nuclear-armed Iran, all but one member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee signed a letter to President Obama on Monday calling for him to increase pressure on the Islamic republic. Published July 1, 2013