Guy Taylor
Articles by Guy Taylor
Kim Jong-un replaces Kim Yong-chol with Jang Kum-chol
A major regime shake-up by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in the eight weeks since his failed summit with President Trump has set U.S. officials on edge amid uncertainty over whether high-level personnel changes in Pyongyang will help or damage the stalled nuclear talks. Published May 2, 2019
John Bolton says U.S. troops ‘on the balls’ of their feet over Venezuela
National Security Adviser John R. Bolton said Wednesday that while the Trump administration still wants a "peaceful transfer of power" in Venezuela, U.S. military forces are "ready to go" into the South American nation at a moment's notice. Published May 1, 2019
Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, ISIS leader, appears in video for first time in 5 years
He may have lost his hold on territory in Syria and Iraq and barely eluded the U.S.-backed forces who destroyed his "caliphate," but unbroken Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi re-emerged Monday, appearing for the first time in five years in a crude jihadi video to declare that his global terrorist organization is far from dead. Published April 29, 2019
Sri Lanka widens Islamic State manhunt
Sri Lankan authorities said Friday they're hunting for as many as 140 people suspected of links to the Islamic State terror group in an evolving investigation following the Easter Sunday bombings that killed more than 250 people at churches and hotels in the South Asian nation. Published April 26, 2019
Kim Jong-un, Vladimir Putin summit to discuss North Korea’s workforce
Kim Jong-un's summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin this week may be a symbolic move by the North Korean leader to show he has a powerful friend in Moscow, but sources familiar with Mr. Kim's agenda say a key focus of the meeting will be allowing more than 10,000 North Korean laborers to remain in Russia despite U.S. demands. Published April 24, 2019
Donald Trump should exploit Russian ‘weaknesses’ but keep INF Treaty intact: Report
The Trump administration's abandonment of a key Cold War-era nuclear treaty won't do much to counter Russian military provocations and information warfare around the world, according to a new national security policy report that says the White House would be wise to focus more on a strategy of exploiting Moscow's economic and political weaknesses. Published April 24, 2019
Saeb Erekat says Trump broke pledge by moving embassy to Jerusalem
NEWSMAKER INTERVIEW: The Palestinians' outspoken resistance to U.S. mediation in the Middle East peace process is justified because President Trump broke a promise two years ago to avoid any moves before announcing his blueprint that unfairly favored Israel, according to longtime chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat. Published April 23, 2019
Donald Trump asks Saudi Arabia to pay for Middle East peace deal
For an administration not exactly famed for strategic patience and deliberative policymaking, President Trump's push for an impending Middle East "deal of the century" could be a notable outlier. Published April 23, 2019
David Friedman sees Jerusalem embassy as Palestinian benefit
Ambassador David M. Friedman says the move of the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem, contrary to Palestinian claims, will produce an enhanced diplomatic mission that benefits everyone. Published April 23, 2019
Sri Lanka Easter attack result of international network helping local Islamist group: Authorities
Sri Lankan authorities said Monday that a "wider international network" of terrorists helped a little-known local Islamist group carry out the grisly wave of coordinated bombings that ripped through churches, luxury hotels and other sites in Colombo on Easter Sunday, as the death toll from attacks continued to rise. Published April 22, 2019
Benjamin Netanyahu, Donald Trump ally, wins Israel election over Benny Gantz
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has pulled off a squeaker of a win in Israel's election, declaring victory Wednesday as official vote tallies showed his Likud party will be able to form a majority coalition with smaller right-wing parties to control the nation's parliament. Published April 10, 2019
Benjamin Netanyahu secures path to victory in Israeli election; corruption allegations remain
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pulled off a squeaker of a win in Israel's election, declaring victory early Wednesday as vote tallies showed his Likud party will be able to form a majority coalition with smaller right-wing parties to control the nation's parliament. Published April 10, 2019
Benjamin Netanyahu win in Israel election over Benny Gantz projected
The stars appeared to be aligned Tuesday night for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to win a fourth consecutive term after a hotly contested election in which a new centrist party headed by former military chief Benny Gantz won a significant chunk of the country's parliamentary seats. Published April 9, 2019
Israel election underway as PM Benjamin Netanyahu struggles to stay in power
Polls opened across Israel Tuesday in an election widely seen as a referendum on long-time conservative Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is struggling to win a fourth consecutive term amid corruption accusations and a strong challenge from former military chief Benny Gantz. Published April 9, 2019
Benjamin Netanyahu, Benny Gantz election Israel’s defining moment
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is the favorite to win Tuesday's general election, but just about everyone in Israel agrees it's going to be a squeaker as voters decide whether to give the Teflon stalwart of conservatism a fourth consecutive term and make him the longest-serving leader in the nation's history. Published April 7, 2019
Mike Pompeo crafts new ‘ethos’ for U.S. diplomacy, outlines vision in internal letter to State Dept.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in an internal letter circulated to thousands of rank-and-file U.S. diplomats Thursday that he remains determined to get the State Department "its swagger back" as he approaches the one-year anniversary of his appointment atop the department later this month. Published April 4, 2019
North Korea courts Russia after Trump-Kim summit failure
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is deepening his regime's relations with Russia just as South Korea engages in a charm offensive with the Trump administration five weeks after U.S.-North Korean denuclearization talks broke down. Published April 3, 2019
Venezuela’s Juan Guaido vows to fight on as possible arrest looms
Venezuelan opposition leader and U.S.-backed interim President Juan Guaido is vowing to fight on, even as the government of President Nicolas Maduro has stripped him of his parliamentary immunity and set the stage for his potential arrest. Published April 3, 2019
Lolwah Al-Khater, Qatar diplomat, sees long Saudi feud
NEWSMAKER INTERVIEW: A top Qatari diplomat says the damaging feud between her country and Saudi Arabia that has divided the two American allies over the past two years and created a Middle East headache for the Trump administration is unlikely to be put to rest anytime soon. Published March 31, 2019
John Brennan and James Comey, Obama intelligence chiefs, under fire after Mueller report
Special counsel Robert Mueller's finding that there was no Trump campaign conspiracy with Russia to steal the 2016 election has unleashed a tsunami of outrage toward Obama-era intelligence chiefs, particularly former CIA Director John O. Brennan and former FBI Director James B. Comey, who are accused of pushing the allegation during congressional hearings, in social media posts and in highly charged interviews on television over the past two years. Published March 28, 2019