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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. Marine Corps Gen. Kenneth McKenzie Jr., commander of U.S. Central Command, left, walks to a House Armed Services hearing, on Capitol Hill, Tuesday, March 10, 2020, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) ** FILE **

U.S. general warns of long-term ISIS resurgence

The Pentagon's top officer for the Middle East warned Wednesday that the U.S. will face "huge problems" from a resurgent Islamic State over the coming decade unless Washington develops a sweeping initiative to deradicalize young men and women in several Middle East hot spots.

August 12, 2020
President Donald Trump salutes as he steps off Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House, Thursday, July 26, 2018, in Washington. Trump is returning from a trip to Iowa and Illinois. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Trump foreign policy moves at stake in election

President Trump wants to dramatically reshuffle U.S. forces in Europe to chastise Germany for not spending enough on defense, but that and a range of other foreign policy pushes by the president are likely to fall by the wayside if presumptive Democratic nominee Joseph R. Biden wins the White House in November.

August 10, 2020
The Universal Peace Federation hosted a worldwide virtual 'Rally of Hope.' (screenshot)

Universal Peace Federation hosts worldwide virtual ‘Rally of Hope’

Global health crises, economic turmoil and racial divisions threaten to bring out the very worst in humanity, but those challenges must be met by love and respect for the unifying principles that bind all nations together, faith leaders and top political figures said Saturday evening at a major international rally.

August 8, 2020
Residents of Beirut vented their fury at Lebanese leaders Thursday as they crowded around French President Emmanuel Macron, who promised to pressure the politicians for reform while assessing damage from the powerful explosion at the city's port on Tuesday. Story A7. (Associated Press)

Beirut explosion puts Lebanon close to ‘failed state’

Some of Lebanon's own leaders believed the country was of the verge of becoming a "failed state" even before this week's horrific Beirut blast, and foreign policy analysts now fear that the carnage — and the apparent failures of government that contributed to it — could fully unravel the country and fuel further chaos across the region.

August 6, 2020
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo pauses while speaking during a news conference at the State Department in Washington, Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2020.(AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, Pool)

Planned Taiwan visit escalates tensions between U.S., China

Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar is gearing up for a trip to Taiwan that will mark the highest-level visit to the island by a U.S. official since 1979 -- and in the process add fuel to already white-hot tensions between Washington and Beijing.

August 5, 2020
U.S. and Chinese national flags are hung outside a hotel during the U.S. presidential election event, organized by the U.S. Embassy in Beijing. (AP Photo/Andy Wong) **FILE**

‘Hotline’ between U.S., China feared as strategic attack tool

There are growing fears among foreign policy specialists that any new crisis communication systems with China -- updated, tactical-level versions of the cliched "red phone" between Washington and Moscow at the height of the Cold War -- could themselves become strategic tools of attack or deception.

August 4, 2020
This Monday, Nov. 3, 2014, photo provided by the U.S. Navy shows an F-35C Joint Strike Fighter conducts an approach on the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz, 40 miles off San Diego, Calif. The Navy has completed the first two landings of F-35C Joint Strike Fighters, a milestone for the new plane. (AP Photo/U.S. Navy, Andy Wolfe)

How the F-35 is driving a wedge between the U.S. and a key NATO ally

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 proved much more difficult than expected, raising questions about whether Washington made a threat it wasn't fully ready to back up.

August 2, 2020
The Blue Angels this week received their first F/A-18 Super Hornet. (Screen grab from Blue Angels Facebook page)

Navy Blue Angels get first Super Hornet plane

The U.S. Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron -- better known as the Blue Angels -- this week received their first F/A-18 Super Hornet, a cutting-edge plane that will replace the older aircraft used for the past three decades.

July 30, 2020
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