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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

Prominent conservatives and defense experts painted an alarming picture of China's growing power at Liberty University's Freedom Summit. (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

Freedom Summit speakers urge tough line on China

The U.S. is in the midst of a deep, fundamental change in its relationship with China, and how Washington handles the growing standoff with Beijing will shape the 21st century, leading lawmakers and national security specialists said at a major conference Monday.

July 27, 2020
F-35A Lightning II aircraft receive fuel from a KC-10 Extender from Travis Air Force Base, Calif., July 13, 2015, during a flight from England to the U.S. The fighters were returning to Luke AFB, Ariz., after participating in the world's largest air show, the Royal International Air Tattoo. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Madelyn Brown)

Turkey and the F-35 — U.S. finds breaking up is hard to do

It was supposed to be an object lesson in bringing a recalcitrant ally back into line, but kicking Turkey out of the Pentagon's $1.6 trillion F-35 program has proven much more difficult than expected, raising questions about whether Washington made a threat it wasn't fully ready to back up.

July 27, 2020
A police man urges residents taking photos outside the United States Consulate to move on in Chengdu in southwest China's Sichuan province on Sunday, July 26, 2020. China ordered the United States on Friday to close its consulate in the western city of Chengdu, ratcheting up a diplomatic conflict at a time when relations have sunk to their lowest level in decades. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

U.S. leaves China consulate in Chengdu as huge crowds gather

Chinese onlookers filled the streets Sunday as American diplomats packed boxes, boarded buses and prepared to abandon the U.S. consulate in Chengdu, the latest casualty of an increasingly bitter tit-for-tat exchange between Washington and Beijing.

July 26, 2020
In this undated handout file photo provided by the U.S. Air Force, an MQ-9 Reaper, armed with GBU-12 Paveway II laser guided munitions and AGM-114 Hellfire missiles, is piloted by Col. Lex Turner during a combat mission over southern Afghanistan. (AP Photo/Lt. Col.. Leslie Pratt, US Air Force, File)

Trump relaxes rules on armed drone sales abroad

The Trump administration on Friday relaxed rules governing the export of armed drones, making it easier for American companies to sell the deadly unmanned aerial systems in a bid to compete with China's growing foothold in the market.

July 24, 2020
Maryam Rajavi, president-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), waves the traditional Iranian flag as she prepares to speak at the "Free Iran Global Summit: Iran Rising Up for Freedom" on July 17. (Siavosh Hosseini/The Media Express)

Iranian dissidents rally for regime change in Tehran

Iran's theocracy is at the weakest point of its four-decade history and facing unprecedented challenges from a courageous citizenry hungry for freedom, Iranian dissidents and prominent U.S. and European politicians said Friday at a major international rally calling for the downfall of the dictatorship in Tehran.

July 17, 2020
In this June 10, 2017, file 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. Moscow and Washington are intertwined in a complex and bloody history in Afghanistan, with both suffering thousands of dead and wounded in conflicts lasting for years. Now both superpowers are linked again over Afghanistan, with intelligence reports indicating Russia secretly offered bounties to the Taliban to kill American troops there. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Justin T. Updegraff, Operation Resolute Support via AP, File)

U.S. meets deadline to cut number of troops in Afghanistan

The U.S. has officially met its deadline to cut the number of troops stationed in Afghanistan, the Pentagon said late Tuesday, complying with a key requirement laid out in the Trump administration's landmark peace deal with the Taliban.

July 15, 2020
Verified image of an improvised explosive device found in Tripoli. (Image courtesy of U.S. Africa Command Public Affairs)

Pentagon: Russian mercenaries laying landmines, IEDs in Libya

The Pentagon on Wednesday said it has "clear evidence" that Russian-backed mercenaries in Libya have used landmines, IEDs and other booby traps in and around the country's capital of Tripoli, violating international law and putting innocent civilian lives in danger.

July 15, 2020
An F/A-18E Super Hornet from the Tophatters of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 14 participates in an air power demonstration over the aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74). The John C. Stennis Carrier Strike Group is returning from an eight-month deployment to the U.S. 5th and 7th Fleet areas of responsibility. (U.S. Navy Photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Apprentice Ignacio D. Perez/Released)

China, Russia military moves test U.S. resolve

Two recent standoffs with China and Russia have offered a sobering view of the coming great power competition between the U.S. and its two biggest rivals and just how dangerous it may become.

July 14, 2020
Defense Secretary Mark Esper, who has had his own public friction recently with the commander in chief, is trying to avoid getting pulled into a political battle with lawmakers who say President Trump is driving hirings, firings and promotions inside the Pentagon. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo, Pool)

Mark Esper, Defense Secretary, battles Pentagon vacancies

A rash of resignations has left U.S. military leaders scrambling to fill vacancies in key positions throughout the Pentagon and has sparked a standoff with lawmakers who are convinced that President Trump's personal politics drive hirings, firings and promotions inside the Defense Department.

July 8, 2020
Afghans inspect the inside of a mosque following a bombing, in Kabul, Afghanistan, Friday, June 12, 2020. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)

Taliban working with al Qaeda, other terrorists groups, Pentagon warns

Remote areas of Afghanistan remain home to "terrorist sanctuaries" and some Taliban members routinely cooperate with extremist groups such as al Qaeda, the Pentagon warned Wednesday in a sobering new report to Congress that paints a bleak picture of the security situation inside the country.

July 1, 2020
President Donald Trump gives thumbs after speaking with reporters before departing on Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House, Tuesday, June 23, 2020, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Iran issues arrest warrant for Donald Trump

An increasingly restive Iran vowed Monday to arrest and prosecute President Trump for taking out one of the country's top generals, even as the beleaguered regime in Tehran battled economic and health woes.

June 29, 2020
FILE - In this file photo dated Monday, Dec. 4, 1989, a Trident II missile launched by the U.S. Navy during a performance evaluation from the submerged submarine USS Tennessee in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Cape Canaveral in Titusville, Fla., USA. According to Britain's Sunday Times newspaper published Sunday Jan. 22, 2017, an unarmed nuclear test missile fired by a British submarine off the coast of Florida in 2016, misfired and the failure was allegedly covered up ahead of a debate in Parliament on the future of the Trident missile system. British Prime Minister Theresa May has refused to say whether she knew about the reported failure. (AP Photo/Phil Sandlin, FILE)

Tom Cotton nuclear testing amendment a reaction to China, Russia

It's been nearly 30 years since the U.S. last tested a nuclear bomb, but the Trump administration and its allies on Capitol Hill are teasing their return amid Russia's own secretive, underground experiments and deep fears in the national security community that China may be following Moscow's lead.

June 28, 2020
In this image taken Tuesday, June 16, 2020, and released by the North American Aerospace Defense Command, one of two Russian Tu-95 bombers is escorted off the coast of Alaska by a U.S. F-22 Raptor fighter. NORAD planes escorted the two Russian Tu-142s during their four-hour flight. Military officials say the Russian jets never left international airspace but did come within 50 miles of Alaskas northern coast at one point. (North American Aerospace Defense Command via AP)

U.S. F-22 fighter jets intercept Russian Tu-142 planes near Alaska

U.S. fighter jets on Saturday again intercepted Russian planes that entered the Alaskan Air Defense Identification Zone and stayed there for eight hours, Pentagon officials said, with the Russian reconnaissance aircraft coming within 65 miles of Alaska.

June 28, 2020