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The ink of freedom: 'Defiant Ones' and the story of Phillis Wheatley

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Ben Wolfgang

Ben Wolfgang

bwolfgang@washingtontimes.com

Ben Wolfgang is a national security correspondent at The Washington Times, a senior member of its Threat Status team, and the host and producer of the award-winning Threat Status Podcast. Ben covers national security, foreign policy, military affairs, the defense industry and the rapidly evolving landscape of military technology.
A Pennsylvania native, he joined The Washington Times in 2011 after serving as a political reporter at The Republican-Herald in Pottsville, Pa. Over the course of his career, Ben has covered the White House, Congress, and four presidential campaigns.
His reporting has earned recognition from some of journalism's most respected organizations, including the Virginia Press Association and the Society of Professional Journalists' Washington, D.C. Chapter, among other honors.
Ben has interviewed heads of state, chairmen of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, senior military commanders, cabinet secretaries, senior government officials, and the CEOs of many of the nation's largest and most influential defense companies.
Ben is a frequent guest on broadcast media, with appearances on C-SPAN, the Sirius XM POTUS channel, and other outlets.
He can be reached at bwolfgang@washingtontimes.com.

Articles by Ben Wolfgang

As seen on a computer screen from a DVD prepared by Al-Sahab production, Al Qaeda's Ayman al-Zawahiri speaks in Islamabad, Pakistan, on June 20, 2006. Al-Zawahiri, the top Al Qaeda leader, was killed by the U.S. over the weekend in Afghanistan. President Joe Biden is scheduled to speak about the operation on Monday night, Aug. 1, 2022, from the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/B.K.Bangash, File)

Over-the-horizon U.S. strike on terrorist raises fears of what’s being missed

On its face, last month's strike on al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahri proved U.S. forces can still carry out military and intelligence missions in Afghanistan even with American boots no longer on the ground. Beneath the surface, however, counterterrorism insiders say the bombing of al-Zawahri's safehouse in Kabul only exposed much deeper long-term problems for the U.S.

September 3, 2022
Iraqi security forces fire tear gas on followers of Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr protesting inside the government palace grounds, in Baghdad, Iraq, Monday, Aug. 29, 2022. Al-Sadr, a hugely influential Shiite cleric announced he will resign from Iraqi politics and his angry followers stormed the government palace in response. The chaos Monday sparked fears that violence could erupt in a country already beset by its worst political crisis in years. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)

Chaos and deadly clashes in Baghdad as cleric al-Sadr leaves Iraqi politics

Iraq descended deeper into chaos Monday after influential Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr announced his "definitive retirement" from politics, sparking deadly clashes at Baghdad's presidential palace and potentially opening the door for Iran-backed militia groups to emerge from the turmoil with more power.

August 29, 2022
President Joe Biden speaks about student loan debt forgiveness in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, Wednesday, Aug. 24, 2022, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Against the odds, Biden inches closer to nuclear deal with Iran

The Biden administration on Wednesday inched closer to restarting a controversial nuclear deal with Iran, brushing aside stark warnings from key American ally Israel and sidestepping mounting evidence that Tehran and its proxies have not moderated their behavior on other fronts and remain intent on targeting U.S. troops, officials, allies and interests.

August 24, 2022
Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) on Feb. 25, 2022, in Orlando, Fla. Republicans making increasingly overt moves toward a presidential run include Pompeo, 58. (AP Photo/John Raoux, File)

Pompeo: U.S. must act to stop Iranian ‘hit squads’ on American soil

The Biden administration must take seriously the threat from Iranian "hit squads" intent on killing U.S. officials on American soil, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said, days after revelations that an Iranian paramilitary tried to carry out an assassination plot against him.

August 15, 2022
A Taliban fighter stands guard in the Shiite neighborhood of Dasht-e-Barchi, in Kabul, Afghanistan, Sunday, Aug. 7, 2022. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

Taliban’s Afghanistan goes back to the future one year after U.S. leaves

Al Qaeda's top leader was hiding out inside the country with no apparent fear of arrest. Women and religious minorities face systematic oppression, international aid groups say, as the government rolls back basic human rights and steadily imposes a media blackout to cover it up.

August 10, 2022
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of Calif., listens during a press conference on protecting women's reproductive health care, Thursday, July 28, 2022, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib)

Pelosi coy on high-stakes Taiwan visit as Asia trip begins

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi left for Asia on Sunday as a heated debate raged back home over her potential visit by her congressional delegation to Taiwan, a move that Beijing has warned against but one that some U.S. officials say would demonstrate American strength amid China's attempted intimidation of the island democracy.

July 31, 2022