Guy Taylor
Articles by Guy Taylor
North Korea nuke concessions raise doubt
North Korea's agreement to suspend nuclear tests and uranium enrichment in exchange for food aid provides little insight into whether new leader Kim Jong-un is seeking to soften the totalitarian nation's posture toward the rest of the world. Published February 29, 2012
U.S. urges calm ahead of Senegal election
U.S. officials called for calm Wednesday ahead of this weekend's election in Senegal, where opposition leaders are vowing to render the West African nation ungovernable if its 85-year-old incumbent president seeks a third term. Published February 22, 2012
U.S., EU optimistic for Iran nuke talks
U.S. and European leaders expressed optimism Friday that direct talks with Iran about its nuclear program could restart in the near future. Published February 17, 2012
U.S. concerned about spike in Iran-Israel ‘shadow war’
The "shadow war" between Israel and Iran is escalating, Middle East analysts say, as a wave of terrorist incidents in far-flung corners of world unsettles U.S. officials. Published February 14, 2012
Iowa homecoming awaits Chinese leader
The last time China's next president visited the United States, he bunked in the spare bedroom of a small-town Iowa home, replete with football wallpaper, a window's view of an old iron basketball hoop and "Star Wars" figurines on the dresser. Published February 13, 2012
U.S. not ready to back U.N. peace force
U.S. and Turkish officials condemned the mounting bloodshed in Syria on Monday but declined to endorse calls by the Arab League for the creation of a U.N. peacekeeping force to quell the violence. Published February 13, 2012
Clinton condemns attacks on Israeli embassies
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Monday condemned in "the strongest possible terms, the bombing of an Israeli diplomatic vehicle in India and the attempted attack on Israeli Embassy personnel in Georgia." Published February 13, 2012
U.S. plans new talks with North Korea
The State Department said Monday that U.S. officials will engage in direct talks with North Korea later this month, signaling the first major development in the tense relations between the West and Pyongyang since the death of longtime North Korean dictator Kim Jong-il. Published February 13, 2012
McCain calls for U.S. to consider arming Syrian protesters
Sen. John McCain on Tuesday said the United States should consider smuggling weapons into Syria to help unarmed anti-government protesters targeted by the Syrian military, whose ongoing crackdown continues to push the nation toward civil war. Published February 7, 2012
U.S. shuts embassy in Syria as Obama tells Assad to go
An international standoff on Syria intensified Monday as the U.S. shuttered its embassy in Damascus and Britain recalled its ambassador amid an increase in violence that many now believe is headed for full-blown civil war. Published February 6, 2012
Mexican vote may determine future of drug war
The front-runner in Mexico's presidential race represents a party known for allowing drug-trafficking cartels semiautonomous control of certain regions during its rule in the previous century. Published February 3, 2012
U.S. waiting to see who else steps up on Iran oil embargo
U.S. officials have lauded the growing international support for an embargo of Iranian crude oil, but it remains to be seen who beyond the European Union will embrace the boycott. Published February 2, 2012
‘Hell to pay’ if terrorists’ link to drug cartels isn’t checked
Collaboration between Latin American drug cartels and groups such as Iran's Quds Force and the Islamic terror group Hezbollah is growing "far faster than most policymakers in Washington, D.C., choose to admit," a former U.S. intelligence official testified Tuesday. Published February 2, 2012
U.S. tries to steady oil-rich, but restive Nigeria
U.S. officials are monitoring developments in Nigeria, where massive protests and a series of bombings by a shadowy Islamist group have rocked the West African nation, a key U.S. oil supplier. Published January 29, 2012
Nigeria Islamist militant sect drawing increased scrutiny
The scene in Nigeria's northern city of Kano unfolded like a script that could only have been written by al Qaeda: Several explosives-laden cars driven by suicide bombers hit multiple police stations with choreographed attacks over the course of a single hour. Published January 29, 2012
U.S. OK with early French withdrawal from Afghanistan
The State Department raised no resistance Friday to France's announcement to pull its troops from Afghanistan in 2013, a year ahead of schedule. Published January 27, 2012
U.S. lauds EU for embargo on Iranian crude oil
U.S. leaders praised the European Union's embargo on Iranian oil Monday, even though it triggered a jump of more than $1 per barrel in global oil prices and signaled the potential for a rise in U.S. gasoline prices in the weeks ahead. Published January 23, 2012
Taiwanese president’s re-election may sour U.S. arms sales
U.S. officials have praised the re-election of Taiwan's president, even though it sets the island nation and longtime U.S. ally on course for closer ties with mainland China. Published January 17, 2012
State Department slams Perry’s ‘terrorists’ comment on Turkey
The State Department said Tuesday it "absolutely and fundamentally" disagrees with Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry's remark during Monday's debate in South Carolina that Turkey is "ruled by what many would perceive to be Islamic terrorists." Published January 17, 2012
Clinton denies U.S. involvement in death of Iranian nuclear scientist
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton "categorically" denied Wednesday any U.S. involvement in the car bombing of an Iranian nuclear scientist in Tehran, the fourth in a series of attacks over the past two years apparently aimed at disrupting Iran's disputed nuclear program. Published January 11, 2012