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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

Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry listens as President Joe Biden speaks to the virtual Leaders Summit on Climate, from the East Room of the White House, Thursday, April 22, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

John Kerry told Iranians about secret Israeli operations in Syria: Report

Former Secretary of State John Kerry kept Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif informed about secret Israeli military actions in Syria, the Iranian diplomat said in recently leaked audio, casting new light on communication between the two men after Mr. Kerry returned to life as a private citizen in 2017.

April 26, 2021
In this Aug. 5, 2019, file photo, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif speaks at a press conference in Tehran, Iran. A recording of Iran's foreign minister offering a blunt appraisal of diplomacy and the limits of power within the Islamic Republic has leaked out publicly, providing a rare look inside the country's theocracy. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi, File)

Leaked recording of Iran’s top diplomat offers blunt talk

President Biden's effort to rejoin the 2015 nuclear deal with Tehran may be in jeopardy after a leaked tape exposed deep divisions between military leaders and diplomats inside Iran, with the credibility of Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif now in doubt at a crucial moment in negotiations.

April 26, 2021
An Afghan army soldier stands guard as smoke rises from a burning fuel tanker after a road accident on the Jalalabad-Kabul highway, east of Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, April 21, 2021. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul) ** FILE **

Afghanistan exit creates hurdles for counterterrorism operations

Top Pentagon officials say the U.S. will retain the ability to find and kill terrorist targets, including al Qaeda militants who could resurface if the Taliban gains more power in Afghanistan, but they readily acknowledge that the next-generation counterterrorism strategy is still a work in progress with many life-and-death questions yet to be answered.

April 25, 2021
U.S. Navy F-35 jets fly over Levi's Stadium during the national anthem before an NFL divisional playoff football game between the San Francisco 49ers and the Minnesota Vikings, Saturday, Jan. 11, 2020, in Santa Clara, Calif. (AP Photo/Ben Margot) ** FILE **

Congress may pull plug on troubled $1.7 trillion F-35 jet program

Lawmakers turned their fire on the Pentagon's troubled F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program Thursday, telling lead contractor Lockheed Martin and other stakeholders that they may pull the financial plug soon on the next-generation fighter jet unless they see dramatic production and performance improvements.

April 22, 2021
A Ukrainian serviceman stands on board a coast guard ship in the Sea of Azov port of Mariupol, eastern Ukraine, Monday, Dec. 3, 2018. The Ukrainian military has been on increased readiness as part of martial law introduced in the country in the wake of the Nov. 25, 2018, incident in the Sea of Azov, in which the Russian coast guard fired upon and seized three Ukrainian navy vessels along with their crews. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka) ** FILE **

U.S. slams Russian military’s partial blockade of Black Sea

U.S. Ambassador to Russia John Sullivan said Tuesday he is returning home for "consultations" about the rapidly deteriorating bilateral relationship, even as Russia's military ramps up a partial blockade of the strategically vital Black Sea.

April 20, 2021
In this June 5, 2019, file photo, Russian President Vladimir Putin, center right, and Chinese President Xi Jinping, center left, enter a hall for talks in the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia. Putin and Xi have developed strong personal ties helping bolster a “strategic partnership” between the two former Communist rivals. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, Pool, File)

Joe Biden invites Xi Jinping, Vladimir Putin to climate change summit

President Biden will summon dozens of world leaders Thursday and Friday for a virtual climate change summit aimed at securing historic cuts in pollution, but some key stakeholders, chiefly China and Russia, will likely be logging on with their own competing agendas and may try to use the meeting as an opportunity to back the U.S. into a corner.

April 19, 2021

Antony Blinken in Afghanistan to sell Biden troop withdrawal

The Biden administration launched a full-court press Thursday to convince allies and warn adversaries that the U.S. will remain engaged in Afghanistan moving forward, even as the U.S. and its NATO allies begin preparations to last Western troops from the country after two decades of war.

April 15, 2021
President Joe Biden removes his mask to speak from the Treaty Room in the White House on Wednesday, April 14, 2021, about the withdrawal of the remainder of U.S. troops from Afghanistan. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, Pool)

Joe Biden orders Afghanistan exit by Sept. 11: ‘Time to end America’s longest war’

Afghanistan is barreling into the unknown after President Biden announced Wednesday that the final 2,500-plus U.S. troops will leave the country by Sept. 11, forcing an already fragile central government in Kabul to soon go toe-to-toe with an emboldened Taliban insurgency that appears eager to exploit a potential power vacuum and to make the American withdrawal as painful as possible.

April 14, 2021
American soldiers wait on the tarmac in Logar province, Afghanistan. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul, File)

Joe Biden to pull all U.S. forces from Afghanistan by Sept. 11

All U.S. troops will be out of Afghanistan by this summer's 20th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, President Biden announced Tuesday, potentially putting American forces at risk of renewed Taliban attacks in the short run while sparking long-term fears that the country may once again become a breeding ground for terrorists.

April 13, 2021