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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

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
Afghan security personnel take a position during fighting between Taliban and Afghan security forces in Herat province, west of Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday, Aug. 3, 2021. In Herat, the capital of the province by the same name, Afghan forces appeared on Tuesday to be able to push the Taliban back, with the insurgents on the edge of the city. Also, Herat city's civilian airport reopened. (AP Photo/Hamed Sarfarazi)

Taliban ‘emboldened’ by its battlefield success in Afghanistan, U.S. envoy says

The Taliban's success in capturing territory and beating back government troops has emboldened the insurgents as they launch an aggressive urban offensive, the Biden administration's special envoy for Afghanistan warned Tuesday, adding that the Afghan security force needs to quickly "find its military bearings" or risk further losses.

August 3, 2021
This photo made available by Safeguard Defenders shows Yidiresi Aishan in Istanbul in 2019. Moroccan authorities have arrested the Uyghur activist in exile based on a Chinese terrorism warrant distributed by Interpol, according to information from Moroccan police and a rights group that tracks people detained by China. Activists fear Yidiresi Aishan will be extradited to China, and say the arrest is part of a broader Chinese campaign to hunt down perceived dissidents outside its borders. (Safeguard Defenders via AP)

Lawmakers move to rein in Interpol ‘abuse’ by autocratic regimes

It's become far too easy for repressive regimes around the world to abuse Interpol and use international law enforcement to target dissidents and political opponents, a bipartisan group of lawmakers said Friday as they rolled out legislation to limit how governments can enlist the group.

July 30, 2021
This handout photo taken from a video released on Friday, April 23, 2021 by Russian Defense Ministry Press Service shows, Russian military trucks are readied for loading after drills in Crimea. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu on Thursday ordered troops back to their permanent bases after a massive military buildup that caused Ukrainian and Western concerns. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP) **FILE**

Russian commandos hold major drills along Afghan border

Russian commandos on Friday kicked off a series of military drills along the Uzbekistan-Afghanistan border, fueling questions about a regional power vacuum left by the unfolding U.S. and allied military withdrawal from Afghanistan that Russia and other players will seek to fill.

July 30, 2021
President Joe Biden speaks during his meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, Monday, July 26, 2021. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

Biden to call off U.S. combat mission in Iraq by the end of the year

The U.S. will end its combat mission in Iraq by the end of the year, President Biden announced Monday, with American forces shifting to an advisory and training role but potentially opening the door, critics say, for Iran to gain even more influence in the region.

July 26, 2021
Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi poses in his office during an interview with The Associated Press in Baghdad, Iraq, Friday, July 23, 2021. (AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed)

Biden, Iraqi leader to discuss U.S. troops, Iran-linked drone strikes

The future of the U.S. war in Iraq will come into focus Monday when President Biden meets with Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi at the White House, with the two leaders expected to finalize a withdrawal plan that could fundamentally reshape America's military role in the Middle East.

July 25, 2021