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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

In this image taken from video provided by UN Web TV, Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi remotely addresses the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly in a pre-recorded message, Tuesday, Sept. 21, 2021, at U.N. headquarters. (UN Web TV via AP)

Emboldened Iran mocks U.S. as Biden’s hopes for nuclear deal fade

President Biden promised to thaw diplomatic relations with Iran and to resurrect a global nuclear deal shunned by his predecessor, but nine months into his term Mr. Biden has little to show for that effort amid growing signs the administration may have misplayed its hand and created an even bolder, more belligerent regime in Tehran.

September 21, 2021
This undated photo released by Northrop Grumman Corp. in 2018 shows the first two operational MQ-4C Triton unmanned surveillance and patrol aircrafts that Northrop Grumman delivered to the U.S. Navy in Naval Base Ventura County Point Mugu, Calif. Builder Northrop Grumman says the single-engine jet can stay aloft for more than 24 hours. (Bob Brown/Northrop Grumman Corporation via AP) ** FILE **

‘Fundamental shift’ in post-9/11 era funneled trillions to defense firms

The post-9/11 era brought permanent changes to U.S. military strategy. For defense contractors, it also sparked a significant cash windfall as the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and conflicts in other hot spots in the Middle East and beyond, funneled trillions of dollars away from the rank-and-file military and toward profit-driven companies.

September 19, 2021
Secretary of State Antony Blinken testifies during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing, Tuesday, Sept. 14, 2021 on Capitol Hill in Washington. Blinken was questioned about the Biden administration's handling of the U.S. withdraw from Afghanistan. (Jabin Botsford/Pool via AP)

Blinken faces another grilling on Capitol Hill over Afghanistan exit

Congressional Republicans took Secretary of State Antony Blinken to task for the second day in a row Tuesday over the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, charging that a series of historically bad decisions by top officials across the Biden administration has disheartened allies, emboldened the Taliban and al Qaeda, and potentially put Americans at risk.

September 14, 2021
Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, joined at left by Chairman Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y., discusses the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan with Secretary of State Antony Blinken who appeared remotely, at the Capitol in Washington on Monday, Sept. 13, 2021. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) **FILE**

Republicans hammer Blinken over Afghan debacle while Dems blame Trump

Infuriated Republicans demanded Secretary of State Antony Blinken's resignation Monday for his handling of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. At the same time, House Democrats mounted a well-coordinated defense of the Biden administration and tried to deflect virtually all of the blame for the chaotic, deadly exit onto former President Donald Trump.

September 13, 2021
Former President Donald Trump remembered 9/11 Saturday with a visit to New York City's Engine Co. 8 firehouse, where he praised first responders' bravery. Also on Saturday, Mt. Trump was also one of the speakers for a virtual rally sponsored by the Universal Peace Federation. The former president told participants in the "Think Tank 2022 Rally of Hope," that there is reason to be optimistic about the reunification of North and South Korea. (AP Photo/Jill Colvin)

Trump: ‘Magnificent reality’ of denuclearized Korea within reach

Saturday evening's event was part of Universal Pace Federation's "Think Tank 2022 Rally of Hope" initiative, designed to bring together prominent figures from across the world and across all sectors of society to examine all aspects of the reunification of North and South Korea.

September 11, 2021
In this May 3, 2011, file photo, local residents gather outside a house where al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was killed in Abbottabad, Pakistan. (AP Photo/B.K.Bangash, File)

Still going after the bad guys: 20 years after 9/11, U.S. tallies wins, losses in war on terror

America's global war on terror, with massive troop deployments, clandestine Special Forces operations and futuristic drone strikes, has killed high-profile jihadi terrorist operatives in countries across the Middle East and succeeded in hunting down much of the core leadership of al Qaeda and the Islamic State group. But 20 years after the campaign began, Islamist radical extremism is putting down fresh roots around the world.

September 9, 2021
In this Monday, Nov. 11, 2019, photo, crewmen of Bradley fighting vehicles stand guard at a U.S. military base in northeastern Syria. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic) **FILE**

The forgotten ‘forever war’: Biden boosts U.S. military footprint in Syria

President Biden has moved quickly to end America's "forever wars" in the Middle East with one very glaring exception: The counterterrorism mission in Syria, where a withdrawal does not appear to even be on the table and a high-stakes geopolitical standoff between Washington and Moscow has greatly complicated the U.S. calculus.

September 6, 2021
Taliban special force fighters arrive inside the Hamid Karzai International Airport after the U.S. military's withdrawal, in Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday, Aug. 31, 2021. The Taliban were in full control of Kabul's international airport on Tuesday, after the last U.S. plane left its runway, marking the end of America's longest war. (AP Photo/Khwaja Tawfiq Sediqi)

Humbled Pentagon faces questions on true loss of U.S. arms in Afghanistan

The nation's top general said Wednesday that there are "lessons to be learned" from a chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, all while he and other top Pentagon leaders face growing questions over whether the Biden administration has tried to hide the true extent of the weapons haul lost to the Taliban.

September 1, 2021
In this image provided by the Department of Defense, a CH-47 Chinook from the 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division is loaded onto a U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, Saturday, Aug, 28, 2021. (Department of Defense via AP)

Last combat boot departs Afghanistan as U.S. ends longest war

The final U.S. military planes left Kabul on Monday, ending the longest war in the country's history and capping a frantic two-week evacuation effort that is leaving hundreds of Americans stranded in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.

August 30, 2021