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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 June 10, 2017, photo provided by Operation Resolute Support, U.S. soldiers with Task Force Iron maneuver an M-777 howitzer, so it can be towed into position at Bost Airfield, Afghanistan. (Associated Press) ** FILE **

Pentagon brushes aside criticism, moves ahead with troop drawdowns in Afghanistan, Iraq

The Pentagon on Tuesday forged ahead with President Trump's plan to dramatically cut America's military presence in both Afghanistan and Iraq, brushing aside objections from lawmakers at home and top officials abroad while signaling the U.S. accepts that after nearly two decades of war it cannot fully eradicate Islamist terror groups from the region.

November 17, 2020
This Nov. 29, 2017, file image provided by the North Korean government shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, third from left, and what the North Korean government calls the Hwasong-15 intercontinental ballistic missile, in North Korea. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP, File)

U.S. Navy shoots down ICBM in ‘defense of Hawaii’ test

The U.S. military early Tuesday morning shot down an intercontinental ballistic missile over the Pacific Ocean in what officials called a "defense of Hawaii scenario," demonstrating a new capability to counter potential attacks by North Korea, China or other actors in the increasingly tense Pacific theater.

November 17, 2020
In this photo taken with a drone, smoke rises from burning houses as people leave the separatist region of Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia, Saturday, Nov. 14, 2020. The territory is to be turned over to Azerbaijan on Sunday as part of territorial concessions in an agreement to end six weeks of intense fighting with Armenian forces. Hundreds of thousands of Azeris were displaced by the war that ended in 1994. It is unclear when any civilians might try to settle in Karvachar — which will now be known by its Azeri name Kalbajar — or elsewhere. (AP Photo/Dmitry Lovetsky)

Azerbaijan uses of drones, AI to beat back Armenia

With the strategic importance of drones and the reaffirmation of Russia's grip over its own backyard, the bloody faceoff between Armenia and Azerbaijan has again proved the immense value of technology in modern-day warfare and underscored the geopolitical undertones that represent a given in virtually all 21st-century battles.

November 15, 2020
Acting Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller speaks during a meeting with Lithuanian Minister of National Defence Raimundas Karoblis at the Pentagon, Friday, Nov. 13, 2020. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

Christopher Miller, Pentagon chief, signals end to Middle East wars

The U.S. must end the era of "perpetual war" and bring its troops back home, Acting Defense Secretary Christopher C. Miller wrote in a weekend message to the Pentagon, laying the groundwork for major withdrawals from Afghanistan and elsewhere during the final weeks of the Trump administration.

November 15, 2020
Afghan security police stand guard at the entrance gate of Kabul University after a deadly attack in Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2020. The brazen attack by gunmen who stormed the university has left many dead and wounded in the Afghan capital. The assault sparked an hours-long gun battle. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)

Joe Biden faces delicate dilemma in Afghanistan War handoff

Presumptive President-elect Joe Biden is facing pressure from all sides in the war in Afghanistan, with Taliban leaders urging him to continue a rapid drawdown of American troops while the U.S.-backed government in Kabul is pleading for a cautious approach and a rock-solid commitment to counterterrorism.

November 10, 2020
In this June 1, 2020, file photo, President Donald Trump departs the White House to visit outside St. John's Episcopal Church, in Washington. Part of the church was set on fire during protests on Sunday night. Walking behind Trump from left are, Attorney General William Barr, Secretary of Defense Mark T. Esper and Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Milley says his presence “created a perception of the military involved in domestic politics.” He called it “a mistake” that he has learned from. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

Mark Esper fired as defense secretary

President Trump unceremoniously fired Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper via Twitter on Thursday, sparking yet another round of upheaval at the Pentagon and injecting even more drama into an already tense, uncertain post-election period for the administration and the military.

November 9, 2020
A man wearing a face mask as a precaution against the coronavirus reads the headlines about the U.S. presidential elections at a newspapers stand in Paris, Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2020. The world is watching as millions of Americans cast their ballots for the next president on Tuesday. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

Trump-Biden election cliffhanger robs global mandate from victor

In a testament to America's staying power as the leading global superpower, the fight for the White House contest is being greeted with interest and enthusiasm befitting a heavyweight "pay-per-view" fight -- with world leaders and citizens alike gobbling up each new twist.

November 4, 2020
In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, leads other Chinese leaders attending the fifth plenary session of the 19th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) in Beijing, China on Oct. 29, 2020. China's leaders are vowing to make their country a self-reliant "technology power" after a meeting to draft a development blueprint for the state-dominated economy over the next five years. (Wang Ye/Xinhua via AP)

Presidential election winner faces complex geopolitical puzzle

North Korea and its nuclear ambitions were the greatest threat to world stability and must be atop the new commander in chief's priority list, President Trump recalls being told during a closed-door White House transition meeting with then-President Barack Obama in late 2016.

November 2, 2020
Afghan police arrive at the site of an attack at Kabul University in Kabul, Afghanistan, Monday, Nov. 2, 2020. Gunfire erupted at the university in the Afghan capital early Monday and police have surrounded the sprawling campus, authorities said. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)

Gunmen kill 19 at Kabul University, Taliban denies involvement

Islamic State gunmen launched a brazen attack on Kabul University on Monday, killing at least 22 students and wounding more than 20 others in what Afghan government officials described as a "despicable act of terror" at a time when the Trump administration is hoping to cut a peace deal that will end the U.S. combat mission there.

November 2, 2020
Supporters of President Donald Trump applaud as he speaks at a campaign rally at Phoenix Goodyear Airport Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2020, in Goodyear, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

NORAD intercepts plane over Trump Arizona rally

A U.S. fighter jet intercepted a civilian aircraft that entered restricted airspace during President Trump's campaign rally in Bullhead City, Arizona, on Wednesday, according to Pentagon officials.

October 28, 2020
The 5,000-pound GM Defense Infantry Squad Vehicle was uniquely engineered to fulfill military requirements and designed to provide rapid ground mobility. The expeditionary ISV is light enough to be sling loaded from a UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter and compact enough to fit inside a CH-47 Chinook helicopter for air transportability. (Caption and image courtesy of GM Defense)

General Motors returns to battlefield with new Army infantry vehicle

GM Defense, a subsidiary of General Motors, this week delivered its first Infantry Squad Vehicle (ISV) to the U.S. Army, marking a major milestone for the company in its revived partnership with the Pentagon. It's the first major vehicle delivery since GM Defense was reestablished in 2017, the company said.

October 28, 2020
A U.S. Marine assigned to Special Purpose Marine-Air Ground Task Force - Crisis Response - Central Command, operates a Battelle Drone Defender V2 during counter unmanned aircraft systems (C-UAS) training at the Baghdad Embassy Compound in Iraq, Oct. 9, 2020. The C-UAS training focused on the fundamentals of detecting and deterring threats posed by UAS operations. The SPMAGTF-CR-CC is a crisis response force, prepared to deploy a variety of capabilities across the region. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Gunnery Sgt. Artur Shvartsberg)

Drones arms race under way as rivals deploy cheap UAVs

As "unmanned aerial vehicles" become exponentially faster, cheaper, more deadly and more widespread around the globe, U.S. military planners are racing to develop a viable defense for suddenly vulnerable troops, tanks and ships.

October 27, 2020
The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers USS Preble (DDG 88), USS Halsey (DDG 97) and USS Sampson (DDG 102) are underway behind the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71). Theodore Roosevelt and its carrier strike group are deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations in support of maritime security operations to reassure allies and partners and preserve the freedom of navigation and the free flow of commerce in the region. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Michael A. Colemanberry/Released) 180324-N-NK192-1337 Join the conversation: http://www.navy.mil/viewGallery.asp http://www.facebook.com/USNavy http://www.twitter.com/USNavy http://navylive.dodlive.mil http://pinterest.com

Navy destroyers to be equipped with hypersonic weapons, White House says

More than 60 U.S. Navy destroyers eventually will be outfitted with hypersonic weapons, White House National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien said Wednesday as he laid out a massive logistical undertaking but one that the Pentagon believes is necessary for 21st-century warfare.

October 21, 2020