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Guy Taylor

Guy Taylor

gtaylor@washingtontimes.com

Guy Taylor is the National Security Editor at The Washington Times, overseeing the paper's State Department, Pentagon and intelligence coverage and driving the daily Threat Status newsletter. He has reported from dozens of countries and been a guest on the BBC, CNN, NPR, FOX, C-SPAN and The McLaughlin Group.
A series Mr. Taylor led on Russia's attempts to influence the 2016 U.S. election was recognized with a Gerald R. Ford Journalism Prize for Distinguished Reporting on the Presidency, and a Society for Professional Journalists award. In 2012, he won a Virginia Press Association award reporting from Mexico.Prior to joining The Times in 2011, Mr. Taylor was supported by the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting and the Fund For Investigative Journalism. He wrote for a variety publications, from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch to Salon, Reason, Prospect, the Daily Star of Beirut, the Jerusalem Post and the St. Petersburg Times. He also served as an editor at World Politics Review, wrote for America's Quarterly and produced videos and features for Agence France-Presse.Mr. Taylor holds an M.S. in Global Security Studies from Angelo State University and a B.A. from Clark University. He was part of a team who won a Society of Professional Journalists award for their reporting on the terrorist attacks of 9/11.
He can be reached at gtaylor@washingtontimes.com.

Threat Status Influencers Videos

Go behind the scenes with Washington Times National Security Editor Guy Taylor as he interviews officials and experts directly involved in the most important global security, foreign policy, and technology issues impacting America's position in the world.

Threat Status Podcast

An edgy and informative look at the biggest U.S. national security and geopolitical issues making headlines right now. Less about hot takes and more about depth, the Threat Status podcast is helmed by veteran Washington Times journalists Ben Wolfgang and Guy Taylor and features regular appearances by insiders with expertise on war, politics and global affairs.

Special Report: Vlad's Vengeance

Inside Putin's 'hybrid warfare' on the U.S. Click here to read more.

Articles by Guy Taylor

Russian President Vladimir Putin, centre, sits on board a bathyscaphe as it plunges into the Black sea along the coast of Sevastopol, Crimea, Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2015. President Vladimir Putin plunged into the Black Sea to see the wreckage of a sunk ancient merchant ship which was found in the end of May. (Alexei Nikolsky/RIA-Novosti, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

China, Russia to launch largest-ever joint navy exercise

The Chinese and Russian navies are gearing up for their largest ever joint exercises, slated to begin Thursday in the Pacific with more than 20 ships from the two nations and to feature anti-submarine operations as well as a joint-beach landing.

August 18, 2015
Syrian rebels have voiced serious reservations about a U.S. program to train moderate opposition fighters in Jordan, dismissing it as a drop in the ocean that would not change realities on the ground. (Associated Press)

Obama’s Syria ‘safe zone’ plan lacks moderate rebels needed to carry it out

The Obama administration's move to partner with Turkey to carve out a "safe zone" in northern Syria is drawing increasing criticism from national security insiders on both the left and right who see a gaping hole in the plan: There aren't enough U.S.-friendly rebels on the ground to secure and hold the territory.

August 10, 2015
Defense Secretary Ashton Carter (Associated Press) **FILE**

Russians suspected in Pentagon email hack

Following warnings from top military officials about the growing threat of cyberattacks on Defense Department networks, it was revealed Thursday that Pentagon was forced to take its Joint Staff unclassified email system offline last month after it was accessed by alleged Russian hackers.

August 6, 2015
In this Monday, June 16, 2014 file photo, demonstrators chant pro-Islamic State group slogans as they wave the group's flags in front of the provincial government headquarters in Mosul, 225 miles (360 kilometers) northwest of Baghdad, Iraq. (AP Photo/File)

U.S. should embed military advisers to fight Islamic State, think tank says

The U.S. should embed military advisers at the battalion level in Iraq and begin directly arming the nation's Kurdish militias and Sunni tribal fighters, according a policy brief issued Thursday by an influential Washington think tank that asserts the Obama administration's current efforts to counter the Islamic State are "not adequate to the task."

August 6, 2015
Rep. Michael T. McCaul, Texas Republican. (Associated Press) ** FILE **

More U.S.-based jihadi terror cases in 2015 than in any year since 9/11: report

There have been more U.S.-based jihadi terror cases in 2015 than in any full year since 9/11, according to a "Terror Threat Snapshot" report released Tuesday by the Republican chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, who asserts that U.S. officials must "do more to take the fight to the enemy overseas at its source."

August 4, 2015
A deadly attack on a Tunisian beach was just one of three from Europe to the Middle East on June 26 after an Islamic State call to violence. Some attacks by far-flung affiliates have targeted Westerners, while others are aimed at Shiite Muslims living in Sunni-majority nations. (Associated Press)

Islamic State attacks beyond Syria, Iraq prompt U.S. concern

A surge in attacks claimed by Islamic State fighters in nations beyond Syria and Iraq is prompting concern among U.S. intelligence officials, who say the pattern fits into the extremist group's ambition to grow a network of affiliates, or "provinces," from North Africa to Asia.

August 3, 2015
Questions are mounting over why the Justice Department has not yet opened a criminal investigation against Hillary Rodham Clinton for mishandling a mountain of classified information. (Associated Press)

Hillary Clinton emails: Calls mount for criminal investigation amid data breach fears

With U.S. intelligence officials scrambling to contain damage from potentially hundreds of spy agency secrets in Hillary Rodham Clinton's private emails, questions are mounting over why the Justice Department has not yet opened a criminal investigation against the Democratic presidential front-runner for mishandling a mountain of classified information.

August 2, 2015
Zafar Hashemi, a deputy spokesman for Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, speaks during a press conference in Kabul, Afghanistan, on July 29, 2015. An Afghan official said Wednesday his government is examining claims that reclusive Taliban leader Mullah Omar is dead. (Associated Press)

Taliban confirms death of Mullah Omar, names successor

High-ranking Taliban officials have confirmed Afghan government claims that the militant group's long-secretive leader Mullah Mohammad Omar is dead, and say the group's senior council has appointed a successor.

July 30, 2015
This undated file photo reportedly shows the Taliban supreme leader Mullah Omar. (Associated Press) **FILE**

Mullah Omar reported dead may hinder peace process

Uncertainty swirled Wednesday around new reports that long-secretive Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar has been dead for perhaps as long as two years, as U.S. officials declined to confirm an Afghan government claim and analysts debated how the death might impact Afghan-Taliban peace talks and the group's surging operations in the war-torn nation.

July 29, 2015
FILE - In this Feb. 3, 2015 file photo, Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington. President Barack Obama slapped sanctions on seven Venezuelan officials Monday, accusing them of perpetrating human rights violations and public corruption in the socialist-governed South American nation. “Corrupt actions by Venezuelan government officials deprive Venezuela of needed economic resources that could be invested in the Venezuelan people and used to spur economic growth,” Lew said in a statement. “These actions also undermine the public trust in democratic institutions and the human rights to which Venezuelan citizens are entitled.” (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

Jacob Lew says U.S. will still curb Iran economy if nuclear deal passes

Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew said Wednesday the Obama administration intends to "redouble" its efforts to target Iranian government support for terrorism and regional destabilization activities — even as nuclear sanctions on Tehran are being lifted under the major accord reached with world powers this month.

July 29, 2015
Secretary of State John Kerry prepares to testify on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, July 28, 2015, before the House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing on the Iran Nuclear Agreement. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

John Kerry pressed on Capitol Hill over Iran deal verification problems

Iran's long record of evading and concealing its nuclear programs from U.N. inspectors hung like a specter over Capitol Hill on Tuesday, as Secretary of State John F. Kerry and other top administration officials faced their second sharp grilling in as many weeks from lawmakers weighing whether to support the Iranian nuclear deal.

July 28, 2015
About 1,000 Kurdish activists from Istanbul who arrived in response to a call for mass mobilization by the imprisoned leader of the PKK rebel group, Abdullah Ocalan, gather at the border near Suruc, Turkey, on Sept. 25, 2014. (Associated Press)

Obama denies gaining Turkey’s help in Islamic State fight means sacrificing Kurds

Turkey has finally entered in force into the U.S.-led fight against the Islamic State group, but the move also has exposed the contradictions and confusion at the heart of U.S. policy, with the Obama administration struggling Monday to balance its promises to warring allies in the region and to prevent a deeper U.S. ground force engagement in the fight.

July 27, 2015
Syed Tariq Fatemi, special assistant on foreign affairs to Pakistan's prime minister, said his country is in constant contact with Iran about prospects for commercial ties. (Associated Press)

Pakistan banking on Iran trade bonanza after Obama nuclear deal

NEWSMAKER INTERVIEW: The lifting of economic sanctions on Iran will open "massive trade" opportunities for Pakistan and could effectively transform the energy markets of South Asia by paving the way for a long-awaited gas pipeline across the Iranian-Pakistani border, said a top Pakistani diplomat, expressing his nation's deep hope that the Obama administration's nuclear deal with Tehran goes into effect as soon as possible.

July 26, 2015
Pakistan's Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Syed Tariq Fatemi arrives for the 10th Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) in Milan on Oct. 16, 2014. The two-day summit opens Thursday under the theme "Responsible Partnership for Sustainable Growth and Security." (Associated Press) **FILE**

Pakistan banks on bonanza from Iran nuke deal

The lifting of economic sanctions on Iran will open "massive trade" opportunities for Pakistan and could effectively transform the energy markets of South Asia by paving the way for a long-awaited gas pipeline across the Iran-Pakistan border, a top Pakistani diplomat said Friday, expressing his nation's deep hope that the Obama administration's nuclear deal with Tehran goes into effect as soon as possible.

July 24, 2015
Secretary of State John F. Kerry insisted that the Obama administration was clear that any nuclear deal should be viewed separately from overall U.S. criticisms of Iran's record at home and abroad. "This plan was designed to address the nuclear issue alone, not to reform Iran's regime, or end its support for terrorism, or its contributions to sectarian violence in the Middle East," he said. (Associated Press) ** FILE **

Senators slam John Kerry: Obama’s Iran deal lacks details

Senators from both parties hammered the Obama administration's nuclear deal with Iran on Thursday, prompting Secretary of State John F. Kerry to launch his fiercest public defense of the accord to date -- calling it "fantasy" to think that a better agreement could have been reached and warning that a congressional repudiation of the deal would only increase the chances of a nuclear-armed Tehran.

July 23, 2015
Officials told The Washington Times that American investigators led by the FBI were scrambling to piece together what contacts Mohammad Youssef Abdulazeez — a 24-year-old Kuwait-born American citizen who was killed in a shootout with police — may have made during various visits to the Middle East in recent years. (Associated Press)

Chattanooga gunman’s uncle detained in Jordan as investigators seek terror link

U.S. officials confirmed Tuesday that the uncle of the man who killed four U.S. Marines and a sailor in a shooting spree in Chattanooga, Tennessee, on Thursday has been held for questioning by Jordanian officials, amid growing signs that investigators were seeking links between the killer and radical terrorist elements.

July 21, 2015