Guy Taylor
Articles by Guy Taylor
Mike Pompeo says Donald Trump ‘unambiguous’ with Kim Jong-un on conditions for freezing drills
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo offered the first snapshot of a timeline for North Korean denuclearization Wednesday, telling reporters on a trip to Seoul that he is "hopeful" Pyongyang will show clear evidence of a "major disarmament" before President Trump's term in office ends in January 2021. Published June 13, 2018
Trump-Kim nuclear summit praised, but big questions loom
NEWS ANALYSIS: The Singapore summit of President Trump and Kim Jong-un projected potent images of peace and diplomacy between two leaders who traded nuclear war threats just a year ago, but the output generated a large wave of initial skepticism that the U.S. side got any tangible or permanent concession from the North Korean dictator on Tuesday. Published June 12, 2018
Bipartisan support raised for Congressional role in nuclear talks with North Korea
Capitol Hill lawmakers are scrambling to prepare for the prospect that the historic summit between President Trump and Kim Jong-un will set in motion a much longer diplomatic process fraught with tense follow-on negotiations and potentially delicate nuclear inspections. Published June 11, 2018
U.S. ready for North Korea nuclear crisis if talks fail
All signs may point to a successful and historic summit between President Trump and Kim Jong-un, but the stakes are so high that the U.S. national security community is braced for the possibility of a rapid spiral toward nuclear brinkmanship if the talks between the two men turn sour. Published June 10, 2018
Nukes part of N. Korea’s ‘national identity,’ former CIA official warns
A former high-level CIA official focused on North Korea offered a dim assessment Friday of the likelihood Kim Jong-un is serious about abandoning his nuclear program -- asserting that Washington must remain sober in its analysis of the North Korean leader's motives as President Trump heads into a major summit with him next week. Published June 8, 2018
China steps up business with Iran after Trump exits nuclear deal
China's adeptness at doing business with Iran through state-owned companies not exposed to the American financial systems could make Beijing the big beneficiary of President Trump's move to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal and reimpose sanctions on foreign companies doing business with Tehran. Published June 7, 2018
Obama officials lament GOP report on Iran nuclear deal
Republicans lauded a new Senate investigative report Wednesday that revealed how the Obama administration secretly sought to connect Iran with American banks despite repeatedly assuring Congress that Tehran would not be given access to the U.S. financial system under the 2015 nuclear deal. But for their part, Obama administration alumni said the claims were "wildly overblown." Published June 6, 2018
Obama hid efforts to aid Iran’s windfall
The Obama administration -- despite repeatedly assuring Congress that Iran would remain barred from the U.S. financial system -- secretly mobilized to give Tehran access to American banks to convert the windfall of cash it received from sanctions relief under the 2015 nuclear deal into dollars, an investigative report by the Senate has revealed. Published June 6, 2018
Mike Pompeo calls on OAS to kick out Venezuela
The U.S. and Venezuela traded barbs at the annual Organization of American States summit in Washington on Monday, with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo urging the hemispheric body to suspend Caracas' membership and support increased economic sanctions against socialist Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. Published June 4, 2018
U.S. watching closely as India in balancing act with China
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has walked a careful line this week toward China, asserting that Delhi and Beijing must "work together" even as he announced a plan supported by the U.S. to develop a new Indian naval port in Indonesia aimed at countering China's growing military and economic prowess. Published June 1, 2018
Muqtada al-Sadr’s threat to oust U.S. forces reawakens old fears
Iraqi Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, whose party finished first in Iraq's national elections last year, is calling the U.S. military an "invader," raising fresh concerns that the Pentagon may face another demand to leave the country before the military mission against Islamic State and other jihadi groups is complete. Published May 30, 2018
Andres Lopez Obrador widens lead in Mexican presidential race
Leftist presidential candidate Andres Lopez Obrador has widened his already significant lead over the field with just a month to go before voting commences in Mexico's July 1 election -- a contest experts say could have major consequences for the Trump administration's NAFTA talks and U.S.-Mexico relations overall. Published May 30, 2018
Muqtada al-Sadr, Shia cleric, calls U.S. an ‘invader country’ in Iraq
Iraqi Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, whose party finished first in Iraq's national elections last year, is calling the U.S. military an "invader," raising fresh concerns that the Pentagon may face another demand to leave the country before the military mission against Islamic State and other jihadi groups is complete. Published May 30, 2018
Pompeo to host religious freedom summit at State Department
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo put a spotlight on the Trump administration's push to bolster religious freedom around the world Tuesday, calling it the "most fundamental of human rights" and declaring that "the United States will not stand by as spectators" while people are persecuted over faith. Published May 29, 2018
China claims no ‘clue’ of sonic attack on U.S. consulate
Chinese officials say they've probed reports of an American government employee experiencing mysterious sensations from sound and pressure at a U.S. diplomatic facility in China but found nothing to back up the claim. Published May 25, 2018
Moon scrambles to halt meltdown in North Korea diplomacy
South Korean President Moon Jae-in urged President Trump and Kim Jong Un to quickly find a way to talk directly in hopes of avoiding a total meltdown in diplomacy or a military clash Thursday, hours after Mr. Trump canceled his planned summit with the North Korean leader amid hostile posturing from Pyongyang. Published May 24, 2018
China ‘will be key’ to Donald Trump’s way forward on North Korea
President Trump's cancellation of the summit with Kim Jong-un amid hostile posturing from North Korea sets the stage for a new wave of brinkmanship and a dramatic expansion of the administration's "maximum pressure" sanctions campaign against Pyongyang. Published May 24, 2018
Pompeo dodges Dem grilling over report on Trump’s cellphone security
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo dodged questions Wednesday about whether he's concerned President Trump may be making regular use of a cellphone that lacks top-level security features to protect his personal calls and tweeting from hackers and foreign surveillance. Published May 23, 2018
Mike Pompeo vows reciprocal action to Venezuelan expulsion of U.S. diplomats
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Wednesday the Trump administration is preparing to "respond reciprocally" to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who kicked out the top two U.S. diplomats in Caracas Tuesday on allegations they tried to sabotage the presidential election there last weekend. Published May 23, 2018
Mike Pompeo says ‘bad deal not an option’ with North Korea
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday said North Korean denuclearization is the "top national security priority," but the Trump administration is also focused on "appropriate countermeasures" to anticipated Russian meddling in the 2018 midterms, knuckling down against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's power grab in Caracas and much, much more. Published May 23, 2018