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Ben Wolfgang

Ben Wolfgang

bwolfgang@washingtontimes.com

Ben Wolfgang is a National Security Correspondent for The Washington Times. His reporting is regularly featured in the daily Threat Status newsletter.
Previously, he covered energy and the environment, Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign in 2016, and also spent two years as a White House correspondent during the Obama administration.
Before coming to The Times in 2011, Ben worked as political reporter at The Republican-Herald in Pottsville, Pa.
He can be reached at bwolfgang@washingtontimes.com.

Articles by Ben Wolfgang

In this image provided by the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Air Force airmen guide evacuees aboard a U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday, Aug. 24, 2021. (Senior Airman Taylor Crul/U.S. Air Force via AP)

U.S. rescue mission in Kabul races against time, Taliban crackdown

The Taliban clamped down on the mass exodus of Afghans from Kabul airport on Tuesday while the Pentagon said it is mounting a frantic push to grow the American military-led evacuation mission over the coming days -- even as the Biden administration struggles to clarify how many Americans are still stranded in Afghanistan and how many Afghan's qualify as evacuees.

August 24, 2021
In this Aug. 19, 2021, file photo, Taliban fighters patrol in Kabul, Afghanistan. In the U.S. departure from Afghanistan, China has seen the realization of long-held hopes for a reduction of the influence of a geopolitical rival in what it considers its backyard. Yet, it is also deeply concerned that the very withdrawal could bring instability to that backyard - Central Asia - and possibly even spill over the border into China itself in its heavily Muslim northwestern region of Xinjiang. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul, File)

Biden faces heat as Taliban threaten U.S. troops, armed Afghan resistance grows

The Taliban on Monday threatened violence against any American troops who remain in Kabul past Aug. 31, while President Biden faced new questions about whether the U.S. could or should be aiding thousands of Afghan resistance fighters now preparing for their own potentially bloody showdown with Taliban insurgents.

August 23, 2021
In this Aug. 21, 2021, image provided by the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Airmen and U.S. Marines guide evacuees aboard a U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III in support of the Afghanistan evacuation at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan. (Senior Airman Brennen Lege/U.S. Air Force via AP) ** FILE **

One dead after U.S. troops fire back at Kabul gunman

U.S. troops engaged in a shootout at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul early Monday morning, Pentagon officials said, with at least one Afghan security officer killed after a gunman opened fire on troops guarding the entrance to the facility.

August 23, 2021
U.S soldiers stand guard along a perimeter at the international airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, Monday, Aug. 16, 2021. On Monday, the U.S. military and officials focus was on Kabul's airport, where thousands of Afghans trapped by the sudden Taliban takeover rushed the tarmac and clung to U.S. military planes deployed to fly out staffers of the U.S. Embassy, which shut down Sunday, and others. (AP Photo/Shekib Rahmani)

ISIS threatens Kabul airport, embassy warns Americans to stay away

The U.S. Embassy in Kabul changed course and issued a travel warning Saturday after an apparent threat from Islamic State terrorists, telling Americans not to go to the Afghanistan capital's airport unless advised by an official government representative.

August 21, 2021
A U.S. Chinook helicopter flies over the city of Kabul, Afghanistan, Sunday, Aug. 15, 2021. Taliban fighters entered the outskirts of the Afghan capital on Sunday, further tightening their grip on the country as panicked workers fled government offices and helicopters landed at the U.S. Embassy. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)

Ghani flees Afghanistan, U.S. diplomats burn documents as Taliban enter Kabul

American diplomats burned documents and the U.S. military rushed to evacuate personnel from Kabul on Sunday morning as Taliban fighters entered the Afghan capital and pushed for the unconditional surrender of the Afghan government, capping a stunning insurgent offensive coinciding with the American military withdrawal after two decades of war.

August 15, 2021
A U.S. Coast Guard boat waits near boats flying Cuban and American flags gathering, Friday, July 23, 2021, in downtown Miami. A small group of Cuban Americans launched motorboats from Miami to their homeland to show support for people experiencing hardships on the island. Five boats left the Bayside marina just before 8 a.m. Friday. They plan to refuel in Key West before heading into the Florida Straits. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee) **FILE**

On streets of Washington, activists press Biden on Cuba

Advocates for regime change in Cuba delivered to President Biden on Thursday a petition with over 71,000 signatures urging the White House to take more aggressive steps to help topple the island's longstanding Communist government.

August 5, 2021
Adm. John C. Aquilino, who is on deck to lead the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, says China is advancing its military capabilities at an alarming rate. (U.S. Navy)

Pentagon’s Pacific commander feels ‘sense of urgency’ to deter China

Beijing's aggressive moves in the South China Sea and elsewhere have sparked a "sense of urgency" inside the Pentagon, the U.S. military's top Pacific commander said Wednesday, pledging that America and its allies will work together to push back on China's quest for global dominance.

August 4, 2021