Guy Taylor
Articles by Guy Taylor
Mike Pompeo vows to attack Iran leaders if Tehran retaliates
The Trump administration escalated its threats Sunday to hit Iran's top leaders with military strikes if Tehran or its proxies carry out any attacks against American personnel or interests in retaliation for the U.S. drone strike that killed Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani last week. Published January 5, 2020
Al-Shabab terror attack in Kenya kills three Americans
Al-Shabab extremists overran a key military base used by U.S. counterterror forces in Kenya before dawn Sunday, killing three American Department of Defense personnel and destroying several U.S. aircraft and vehicles before they were repelled, U.S. and Kenyan authorities said. Published January 5, 2020
U.S., Kenyan military forces repel terrorist attack at Manda Bay Airfield
American and Kenyan military forces repelled an al-Shabab terrorist group attack Sunday at a key base in Kenya that U.S. officials use to provide counterterrorism support for East African partners, the Pentagon said. Published January 5, 2020
Iran’s leader vows ‘severe revenge,’ while Democrats question the legality of U.S. strike
Iran's supreme leader vowed Friday to inflict "severe revenge" for the killing of the Islamic republic's elite military commander Gen. Qassem Soleimani by an American drone strike in Iraq. Published January 3, 2020
Donald Trump’s tough line on Iran put to the test in election year
President Trump has successfully hardened U.S. policy toward Iran since pulling out of the Obama-era nuclear deal 17 months ago, engineering a dramatic shift in policy that has rankled America's allies in Europe but won deep praise from Israel and several key Arab powers. Published January 3, 2020
Qassem Soleimani killed by U.S. airstrike
The U.S. military claimed responsibility Thursday night for an airstrike that killed Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the head of the Iranian military's elite Quds force, at Baghdad International Airport in Iraq. Published January 2, 2020
Pentagon sending more troops to guard U.S. Embassy in Iraq
The Trump administration scrambled to ramp up security at the U.S. Embassy in Iraq and tamp down a brewing crisis in the Middle East on Tuesday after an Iran-backed militia launched a brazen attack that briefly breached the walls of the U.S. diplomatic compound in Baghdad. Published December 31, 2019
Mike Pompeo: Iraqi leaders say they will ‘guarantee the safety’ of American personnel after attack
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was assured by Iraqi leaders in a phone call Tuesday that they would "guarantee the safety" of American personnel in Iraq after Iraqi Shiite militiamen broke into the U.S. Embassy compound in Baghdad, U.S. officials said. Published December 31, 2019
Faith leaders promote strength of peace and diversity at summit
Faith leaders from dozens of nations gathered here over the weekend to promote unity, imploring each other to see diversity not as a stumbling block, but as the "cornerstone" for developing a peace that can elevate nations and its leaders. Published December 30, 2019
Pentagon leaks commando drill to raid North Korea
The U.S. this week dramatically ramped up surveillance over North Korea ahead of Pyongyang's anticipated "Christmas gift," while the Pentagon sent an unmistakably blunt message by leaking news of a November special-operations drill that practiced taking out top North Korean officials. Published December 26, 2019
Stephen Biegun, U.S. envoy to North Korea, snubbed on nuclear talks
The stage is set for a return to U.S.-North Korea brinkmanship, with Pyongyang ignoring repeated offers from the Trump administration to restart stalled nuclear talks, while China and Russia are pressing to lift international sanctions on the isolated nation despite its refusal to drop its nuclear programs. Published December 17, 2019
U.S.-Russia power game simmers in Latin America; Trump slaps new sanctions on Nicaragua
The Trump administration pushed anew this week to undermine what it calls the "corrupt" government of Nicaragua at a moment when Russia is accused of pumping weaponry and security expertise into the Central American nation in a bid to reassert Moscow's once-powerful Cold War-era influence there. Published December 13, 2019
North Korean defector’s comments sharpen debate over Pyongyang’s intentions
Friction over deadlocked nuclear talks intensified Thursday with North Korea, as Pyongyang accused the U.S. of engaging in a "stupid" and "hostile provocation" by convening a U.N. Security Council meeting on the rising threat of escalation posed by the North's recent military tests. Published December 12, 2019
North Korea defector warns Donald Trump on Kim Jong-un, nuclear weapons
A high-level defector from Kim Jong-un's regime has sent a letter to President Trump warning that he has been "tricked" into believing the North Korean leader will ever denuclearize and that Washington should instead ramp up a "psychological warfare campaign" aimed at inspiring North Korea's elites to replace the young dictator from within. Published December 11, 2019
Kim Jong-un nuke test ‘big mistake,’ Robert O’Brien says
President Trump's national security adviser says North Korea is making a "big mistake" if it is preparing to resume tests of nuclear bombs -- tests Pyongyang has refrained from conducting for the past 18 months. Published December 8, 2019
Robert O’Brien: Pensacola shooting ‘looks like terrorism’
The killing of three U.S. sailors by a Saudi Royal Air Force lieutenant studying at the U.S. Naval Air Station Pensacola "appears" to have been a terrorist attack, National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien said Sunday. Published December 8, 2019
Pensacola shooting presumed ‘act of terrorism’ by FBI
The Saudi Royal Air Force lieutenant who shot to death three U.S. sailors Friday at Naval Air Station Pensacola is believed to have accused the U.S. of being anti-Muslim on Twitter before the attack, which the FBI says is being investigated as an "act of terrorism." Published December 8, 2019
U.S. must ramp up, not ease, pressure on North Korea, new report warns
The Trump administration's maximum pressure campaign has "failed" to prevent North Korea from obtaining resources to continue developing nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles, according to an influential U.S. think tank calling for a significant revamping of the campaign. Published December 6, 2019
Iran ‘murdered’ over 1,000 protesters, U.S. officials say
More than 1,000 Iranian protesters may have been "murdered" in recent weeks by the country's internal security services, top Trump administration officials said Thursday, while the Pentagon skirted questions about plans to send thousands of additional U.S. troops to the region to contain Iran in the region. Published December 5, 2019
Iran ‘murdered’ as many as 1,000 protesters, State Department says
Iranian internal security forces have engaged in mass killings of demonstrators protesting the theocratic government in Tehran, according to the Trump administration's top Iran envoy, who says authorities there "could have murdered over 1,000 Iranian citizens." Published December 5, 2019