Guy Taylor
Articles by Guy Taylor
Major European, Asian firms flee Iranian market in wake of U.S. sanctions: Report
Nearly three dozen major European and Asian companies are pulling their investments from Iran to avoid getting tangled up in reimposed U.S. sanctions, despite Tehran's scramble to find loopholes for the companies and efforts by European governments to neutralize the impact of the new sanctions. Published September 11, 2018
U.S. needs new blueprint for post-9/11 extremism, study says
Federal agencies for nearly two decades have prevented another 9/11 terrorist attack, but the "time has come for a new U.S. strategy" in the war against extremism spreading in the Middle East and beyond, says a congressionally mandated new task force led by the former chairmen of the vaunted commission that investigated the 2001 strikes on Washington and New York. Published September 10, 2018
Kim Jong-un North Korea denuclearization an effort to secure legitimacy
Some key officials and analysts in South Korea and in Washington argue that they can see major policy shifts as evidence of how seriously the North Korean leader is committed to changing his nation's isolationist ways and cutting a deal on his nuclear and missile programs. Published September 6, 2018
Donald Trump warns Syria against ‘slaughter,’ denies he wanted to assassinate Assad
President Trump warned Syria on Wednesday not to launch a "slaughter" of millions of innocent civilians trapped by government forces in the country's last major rebel-held enclave, while denying an account in a new tell-all book that he wanted to assassinate Syrian President Bashar Assad last year in the wake a suspected chemical attack on rebel positions. Published September 5, 2018
China boosting trade with North Korea to undermine Donald Trump: Report
Nearly three dozen North Korean cargo ships were spotted pulling into coal docks at the Chinese port of Longkou during May and June, according to a report Wednesday that claimed Beijing has allowed increased trade with Pyongyang just as President Trump has tried to maintain economic pressure on Kim Jong-un's regime. Published September 5, 2018
Pompeo to toe hard line in Pakistan; no plan to resume halted U.S. aid
U.S. officials say Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will toe a hard line with Pakistan's new government when he visits Islamabad this week, roughly nine months after President Trump halted security aid to the South Asian nation on grounds it gives "safe haven to terrorists." Published September 4, 2018
Xi Jinping, China’s president, to skip North Korea celebrations
China is sending a high-level delegation to Pyongyang to partake in the 70th anniversary of North Korea's founding later this week, but Chinese President Xi Jinping won't be there, a decision that has experts wondering whether a rift may be emerging between the two allies. Published September 4, 2018
Russia military drills point to imminent Syria offensive
Russia's navy announced it will open "large-scale drills" in the Mediterranean on Saturday in the latest sign that a major Syrian government offensive against one of the last rebel strongholds in the country is imminent -- a development that the United Nations warns could trigger a fresh refugee crisis in the Middle East nation's 7-year-old civil war. Published August 30, 2018
China claims Donald Trump ‘distorting the facts’ on North Korea influence
China pushed back Thursday against President Trump's allegation that Beijing is playing the spoiler role in North Korea to gain more leverage in bare-knuckle trade talks with Washington. Published August 30, 2018
Donald Trump: South Korea military drills will not resume
President Trump said Wednesday that he has no intention -- despite comments to the contrary this week by Defense Secretary James N. Mattis -- to restart U.S.-South Korea military drills that he halted in a show of "good faith" to Pyongyang following his June summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. Published August 29, 2018
Trump: China thwarting North Korea diplomacy over U.S. trade dispute
The White House roundly blamed China for foiling President Trump's pursuit of a diplomatic solution to the North Korean nuclear crisis Wednesday, asserting that Beijing is using its influence over Pyongyang to gain leverage in ongoing U.S.-China trade negotiations. Published August 29, 2018
South Korea downplays Pentagon plan to restart joint drills
President Trump said Wednesday that he has no intention of resuming U.S.-South Korean military drills he suspended as part of his diplomatic outreach to North Korea, a day after Defense Secretary James Mattis suggested the exercises that Pyongyang has long condemned could be resumed in the near future. Published August 29, 2018
Security clearance proliferation cast as ‘golden tickets’ to wealth
Led by President Trump, critics have zeroed in on the proliferation of security clearances and cast them as "golden tickets" to high-paying jobs and positions of power and influence. Published August 23, 2018
Trump to block Pakistani officers from key U.S. training program
The Trump administration will block dozens of Pakistani military officers from an exclusive U.S.-run leadership training program, according to a report Friday that tied the development to the White House's halt earlier this year of American security-related assistance to Islamabad. Published August 10, 2018
John Bolton, Nikki Haley pressure Trump on North Korea nuke talks
Hard-liners advising President Trump say the North Koreans need to start showing results. Published August 9, 2018
Iran tells N. Korea the U.S. is ‘untrustworthy’ and urges closer ties with Tehran
Iran's president warned North Korea's top diplomat Wednesday to be wary of embracing a denuclearization deal with Washington, arguing the Trump administration's pullout of the 2015 Iranian nuclear deal shows the U.S. can't be trusted to keep its word. Published August 8, 2018
Russian Navy lurks in English Channel; British stalk warships
Britain's Royal Navy closely monitored two Russian warships and their support vessels that passed through the English Channel overnight Tuesday, claiming the development "routine" despite tension between London and Moscow over a nerve attack on a former Russian spy in the United Kingdom earlier this year. Published August 8, 2018
U.S. staying out of Saudi-Canada spat, but aware of human rights concerns
The State Department sought for a second day to avoid inflaming a spiraling diplomatic row between Saudi Arabia and Canada Tuesday, calling on both sides to sort out their differences over a delicate human rights dispute. Published August 7, 2018
Nicolas Maduro drone assassination attempt raises copycat fears
The use of explosives-laden drones in an assassination attempt against Venezuela's president over the weekend has sent concern soaring among security officials over the growing threat that even consumer-level drones rigged with rudimentary bombs now pose to heads of state around the world. Published August 6, 2018
Mike Pompeo warns Russia, China not to violate North Korea sanctions
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says he warned Russia, China and others at a major summit in Asia over the weekend not to violate sanctions on North Korea, asserting that the Trump administration has no intention of lifting them until Pyongyang fully abandons its nuclear weapons. Published August 5, 2018