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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 Feb. 1, 2020, file photo Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden smiles as former Secretary of State John Kerry, left, takes the podium to speak at a campaign stop at the South Slope Community Center in North Liberty, Iowa. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)

John Kerry held backchannel talks with Iran, Javad Zarif

President Trump in 2019 sought to open a back channel of communication with top Iranian officials and saw the U.N. General Assembly meeting in September as a potential opportunity to defuse escalating tension with Tehran, but the effort failed.

February 21, 2021
President Joe Biden arrives for a virtual event with the Munich Security Conference in the East Room of the White House, Friday, Feb. 19, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

Biden: ‘I welcome’ competition with China; U.S. and Europe will win

The U.S. and its European partners abroad can compete with China in the 21st century and come out victorious, and Washington should "welcome" that high-stakes geopolitical and economic fight, President Biden said Friday in a sweeping foreign policy speech in which he sought to close the book on the Trump era and recast America's role in the world.

February 19, 2021
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg speaks during a media conference, after a meeting of NATO defense ministers in video format, at NATO headquarters in Brussels on Thursday, Feb. 18, 2021. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo, Pool)

NATO ministers’ summit punts on Afghan troop decision

The U.S. and its NATO allies are deadlocked about their military future in Afghanistan, with a key May 1 withdrawal deadline fast approaching and no clear signals from either Washington or Brussels on the path forward.

February 18, 2021
In this Feb. 4, 2021, photo, Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks at the State Department in Washington. The Biden administration on Feb. 18 rescinded former president Donald Trump’s restoration of U.N. sanctions on Iran, an announcement that could help Washington move toward rejoining the 2015 nuclear agreement aimed at reining in the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Joe Biden open to Iran talks, re-entering nuclear deal

Top Biden administration officials said Thursday that the U.S. would accept an invitation from the European Union to join multilateral talks with Iran, extending an olive branch that could pave the way for Washington to re-enter a landmark global nuclear deal with Tehran or craft another to take its place.

February 18, 2021
President Joe Biden listens as Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin speaks at the Pentagon, Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, Pool)

Biden stands up ‘China Task Force’ at the Pentagon

President Biden on Wednesday issued an urgent call for a governmentwide effort to reevaluate and confront the threat posed by China, making his first trip to the Pentagon as president to announce a high-level task force that could overhaul American military policy toward its chief 21st-century rival.

February 10, 2021
President Joe Biden salutes as he steps off Air Force One at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., Monday, Feb. 8, 2021. Biden is returning to Washington after spending the weekend at his home in Delaware. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

Joe Biden to visit Pentagon amid force posture review, anti-extremism push

President Biden will visit the Pentagon on Wednesday for the first time since becoming commander in chief on Jan. 20 and will address a Defense Department in the midst of a major review of U.S. troop presence abroad, an anti-extremism push across all branches of the armed forces and other key changes in all corners of the military.

February 10, 2021
A victory in the June contest by a figure more radical than current Iranian President Hassan Rouhani could escalate Iran’s demands at the bargaining table and its destabilizing policies in the region, analysts say, putting in danger any hope of saving the nuclear pact. (Iranian Presidency Office via AP)

Iran, U.S. demand other move first to rejoining nuclear deal

The United States and Iran are at a diplomatic stalemate as both sides dig in and refuse to make the first move toward the resurrection of a landmark 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and six world powers, including the U.S.

February 7, 2021
Gen. Herbert Carlisle speaks to reporters at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii on Thursday, Oct. 9, 2014. Carlisle said there have been some unsafe midair encounters after China declared an air defense identification zone over disputed islands in the East China Sea, like a Chinese jet that came within 30 feet of a U.S. Navy P-8 Poseidon plane in August, but most interactions between different countries’ aircraft have been very safe to a large extent. (AP Photo/Audrey McAvoy) **FILE**

COVID-19 woes add to defense industry’s burdens, survey says

In its second annual "Vital Signs" industry report card, the National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA) -- the leading trade group for American defense contractors -- gave the sector a "C" grade, a barely passing mark that points to troubling trends that have direct effects on U.S. national security at home and military superiority abroad.

February 2, 2021