Guy Taylor
Articles by Guy Taylor
Donald Trump will have line item restoring Pakistan aid in 2019 budget: Source
The White House "very much wants to get security aid flowing again to Pakistan," according to a high-level U.S. government source close to the Trump administration, who said President Trump's budget for 2019 will have a line item for the aid. Published February 7, 2018
Pakistan critical to Trump Afghanistan war plan, top official says
NEWSMAKER INTERVIEW: The U.S. needs Pakistan if President Trump's war plan for Afghanistan is to have a chance of succeeding, Pakistan's top internal security official said in an interview Tuesday, warning that bad blood between Washington and Islamabad risks triggering an era of instability across the region. Published February 6, 2018
Red Cross confident U.S. still top donor under Donald Trump
A top International Committee of the Red Cross official expressed confidence Thursday that the United States will remain its top donor, saying the organization is working well with the administration despite President Trump's push to dramatically cut the budgets for the State Department and foreign aid. Published February 1, 2018
Top International Red Cross official says he’s ‘not worried’ of Trump cut to funding
A top official at the International Committee of the Red Cross says he's confident Washington will remain the organization's top donor despite President Trump's promise to dramatically cut America's USAID and State Department budgets. Published February 1, 2018
ISIS still mortal threat to Middle East, Qatar foreign minister warns
NEWSMAKER INTERVIEW: Islamic State remains a mortal threat to the region despite its recent battlefield defeats, Qatar's foreign minister warned in an interview Wednesday, cautioning that the terrorist group could rise again if Washington and its Arab allies fail to address the root causes fueling religious extremism. Published January 31, 2018
Trump vows ‘maximum pressure’ on North Korea; says U.S. must show ‘unmatched power’ on world stage
President Trump said Tuesday night that his administration is "waging a campaign of maximum pressure" to prevent North Korea from obtaining nuclear missiles that could threaten the American homeland. Published January 30, 2018
Trump vows to punish nations criticizing Jerusalem embassy move
President Trump doubled down Tuesday night on his vow to stop U.S. foreign aid from going to countries that stood against his recent decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and move the American embassy there from Tel Aviv. Published January 30, 2018
Guantanamo Bay to remain open as Trump touts order in State of Union speech
President Trump has signed an executive order to keep open the detention facility for suspected terrorists at the U.S naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Published January 30, 2018
Raul Castro’s exit delay puts Miguel Diaz-Canel’s Cuba succession in question
For the first time since 1959, Cubans will soon have a president not named Castro, but there is a surprisingly cloudy forecast over what comes next. Published January 30, 2018
Tillerson, Mattis praise Qatar despite ongoing rift with Saudis
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson says Qatar has made "significant progress to improve efforts to combat terrorism," despite ongoing claims by other Arab powers that the tiny Persian Gulf nation backs jihadi groups such as Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood. Published January 30, 2018
Fighter jet incursion latest in series of provocative Russian military moves
The Russian fighter jet that flew within five feet of a U.S. Navy plane over the Black Sea Monday was just the latest in a series of provocative military moves authorized by Moscow to test American and NATO defenses. Published January 30, 2018
Turkey detains more than 300 over criticism of Syria offensive
Authorities in Turkey are cracking down on citizens who've used social media to criticize the nation's ongoing military offensive against a Kurdish enclave in Syria. Published January 29, 2018
Syrian opposition boycotting Russia-led peace talks
Russian diplomats will host what Moscow is touting as a major peace conference on Syria this week, but there's a catch: The Syrian opposition won't be there. Published January 29, 2018
Mike Pompeo, CIA director: North Korea leader may be getting bad information from inner circle
CIA Director Mike Pompeo says U.S. spies fear North Korean leader Kim Jong Un may be getting inaccurate briefings from his circle of officials on the Trump administration's determination to neutralize Pyongyang's nuclear threat, raising the risk of a miscalculation in the standoff. Published January 23, 2018
CIA ramping up counterintelligence amid debate over Chinese penetration
CIA Director Mike Pompeo says he's taken aggressive measures over the past year to improve the agency's counterintelligence operations -- an assertion that comes amid heated debate over the scope of China's penetration into the U.S. intelligence community following last week's arrest of a Chinese-American former CIA case officer accused of spying for Beijing. Published January 23, 2018
Kim Jong-un may be getting bad intel about Trump’s plans, CIA says
CIA Director Mike Pompeo says U.S. spies are wary that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un may not be receiving truthful briefings from the circle of regime officials surrounding the dictator on how serious the Trump administration is about neutralizing Pyongyang's nuclear threat by any means necessary. Published January 23, 2018
Jerry Chun Shing Lee’s arrest sets off CIA, FBI debate over China’s spy penetration
A ferocious debate has erupted within the CIA and FBI over the scope of China's penetration of the American intelligence community in the wake of last week's arrest of a Chinese-American former CIA case officer accused of spying for Beijing. Published January 22, 2018
Rift between U.S., Turkey widens as Ankara presses Syrian offensive
The U.S. and Turkey moved closer to an open rift Sunday, with the Trump administration expressing deep concern as Turkish ground forces crossed into northern Syria in a bid to rid the area of U.S.-backed Kurdish militias. Published January 21, 2018
Trump admin defends open-ended troops in Syria; says ISIS threat remains
The Trump administration is pushing back against critics who say the White House is hyping the ongoing threat of the Islamic State in Syria in order to legally justify an open-ended commitment of U.S. troops in the war zone. Published January 19, 2018
Donald Trump’s Syria policy raises tensions
The Trump administration is struggling with the contradictions of its own policy for Syria, insisting that it's not creating a permanent Kurdish enclave inside the country but vowing that the U.S. will stay involved indefinitely by training a Kurd-majority ground force to maintain security and prevent a resurgence of Islamic State. Published January 18, 2018