Guy Taylor
Articles by Guy Taylor
Vladimir Putin among first world leaders to offer Donald Trump congratulations
Donald Trump got a host of congratulatory messages from authoritarian regimes around the globe Wednesday -- from Egypt to Turkey and China -- but some of the warmest words came from Moscow and Russian President Vladimir Putin, who appeared eager to seize on perceptions that Mr. Trump wants to repair U.S.-Russia relations strained during the Obama years. Published November 9, 2016
Jihadi terrorist groups see opportunity with Trump election
Jihadi terrorist groups in the Middle East and Southwest Asia are looking to leverage the election win of Donald Trump as president of the United States as a call to arms on social media, while others are reaching out to the next administration in an attempt to end U.S. involvement in their countries. Published November 9, 2016
Mexico reacts to Donald Trump victory; peso takes a battering
Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto responded to Donald Trump's victory by calling for continued partnership with the U.S. and expressing hope that economic and political ties between the two nations won't be damaged by a Trump presidency. Published November 9, 2016
China and Iran react; global financial markets stunned by Donald Trump win
Global financial markets plunged in shock during the initials hours after President-elect Donald Trump's victory but they were climbing back by Wednesday morning, as cautious reactions and congratulatory statements began pouring in from some world leaders. Published November 9, 2016
U.S. pulled deeper into Libya’s ISIS conflict as Sirte offensive stalls
In June the White House and Pentagon were touting the recent success of Libyan militias closing in on the Islamic State-held city of Sirte, with little to no support from U.S. forces on the ground. Published November 6, 2016
Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi message a sign of trouble for ISIS, Pentagon says
An audio recording purportedly circulated this week by reclusive Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi may be proof that communications have broken down between the terrorist group's top leaders in Syria and its rank-and-file fighters in the besieged city of Mosul, the Pentagon said Thursday, as coalition forces continued their advance on Iraq's second-largest city. Published November 3, 2016
Pentagon won’t verify recording by Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, ISIS leader
A recording purportedly from the Islamic State's shadowy leader circulated through the international media Thursday, calling on the terror group's fighters to hold their ground as campaigns mount against territory held by the group in Syria and Iraq. Published November 3, 2016
Park Geun-hye of South Korea reshuffles cabinet as scandals prompt calls for resignation
South Korean President Park Geun-hye replaced her prime minister and two other top officials Wednesday in a bid to contain a political crisis, as accusations of influence-peddling and other activities prompted prosecutors to request an arrest warrant for one her closest personal friends. Published November 2, 2016
Post-coup crackdown widens in Turkey; opposition paper targeted
A top European Union politician and leading human rights group slammed the government of Turkey on Monday for shuttering more than a dozen private media outlets and arresting 11 journalists at a key opposition newspaper. Published October 31, 2016
Bakir Bozdag, Turkish justice minister, says U.S.-Turkey relations hurt by Gulen case
Turkey's justice minister says U.S.-Turkey relations are being damaged by Washington's unwillingness to extradite a reclusive cleric accused of masterminding a failed coup. Published October 27, 2016
Philippines emerge as ‘jihad of choice’ after Obama phases out counterterrorism operation
Support for the Islamic State has deepened cooperation among several extremist groups in Southeast Asia, which soon could focus on a decades-old insurgency in the Philippines as their "jihad of choice" while the terrorist group is beaten back half a world away in Syria and Iraq. Published October 26, 2016
ISIS claims responsibility for Pakistan attack that killed dozens of police cadets
The Islamic State claimed responsibility Tuesday for an attack in Pakistan that saw masked gunmen raid a police training college a day earlier, killing at least 59 people and wounding more than 100, the majority of them law enforcement cadets in the South Asian nation. Published October 25, 2016
Venezuela doctors threatened for speaking about lack of medical supplies
The Venezuelan government is using "intimidation or violence" to silence critics of its failure to address spiraling food and medical shortages, Human Rights Watch said Monday — a day after the socialist nation's parliament vowed to begin impeachment proceedings against President Nicolas Maduro. Published October 24, 2016
Obama hoping for quick Mosul victory to validate ISIS strategy, boost Hillary Clinton
With the fight for Mosul entering its second week, the Obama administration is under pressure to declare victory over the Islamic State, a win the White House says would validate the president's strategy of waging proxy wars against the terrorist group in Iraq and Syria days before Americans head to the polls. Published October 23, 2016
Rodrigo Duterte ‘separation’ talk perplexes U.S. as Philippines court China, Russia
Relations between two longtime allies hit a new low Thursday as American officials scrambled to react to Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte's announcement in Beijing that he was pursuing a "separation" from the United States and moving closer to China and Russia, asserting that Mr. Duterte's remarks were "inexplicably at odds" with the close alliance between Washington and Manila. Published October 20, 2016
Recep Tayyip Erdogan blasts U.S.-led campaign against ISIS ahead of Ashton Carter’s Turkey visit
Defense Secretary Ashton Carter will be walking into diplomatic buzz saw Thursday when he arrives in Turkey a day after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan launched a blistering critique of the U.S.-backed campaign to oust the Islamic State group from neighboring Iraq and demanded a bigger role for Turkish military forces. Published October 19, 2016
Mosul offensive heats up amid doubts about Iraq’s viability as a unified nation
The liberation of Mosul from the Islamic State group could also be the starting gun for the breakup of Iraq as the country faces re-emerging tensions along traditional sectarian and religious lines. Published October 18, 2016
Mosul offensive against ISIS ‘ahead of schedule,’ but fears of wider regional war mount
On Day One of the long-awaited offensive to retake Mosul, U.S.-backed Kurdish and Iraqi forces advanced swiftly through Islamic State-controlled territory around Iraq's second-largest city — even as concerns mounted over the prospect of a chaotic battle that could unleash a wider sectarian and regional war. Published October 17, 2016
Donald Trump the debater gets tough reviews overseas
The rest of the world saw pretty much the presidential debate American pundits did, with many foreign critics saying Republican Donald Trump proved less than ready for prime time but faulting Democrat Hillary Clinton for failing to put away her less experienced foe. Published September 27, 2016
Pakistan says India risks ‘self-destructive war’ by escalating Kashmir tensions
NEWSMAKER INTERVIEW: The top Pakistani official in the volatile dispute over Kashmir warned in an interview that India is dangerously escalating a war of words over the divided territory between the two nuclear-armed powers, vehemently denying that Islamabad was behind a recent attack that killed 18 soldiers at an Indian military base there. Published September 26, 2016