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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

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks during the agreement signing between Taliban and U.S. officials in Doha, Qatar, Saturday, Feb. 29, 2020. The United States is poised to sign a peace agreement with Taliban militants on Saturday aimed at bringing an end to 18 years of bloodshed in Afghanistan and allowing U.S. troops to return home from America's longest war. (AP Photo/Hussein Sayed)

U.S., Taliban sign deal that calls for troops to exit Afghanistan within 14 months

The U.S. on Saturday signed a landmark peace agreement with its foe of nearly two decades, the Taliban, as the Trump administration officially embarked down a path that could see all American troops exit Afghanistan within 14 months and represent the beginning of the end for the longest war in U.S. history.

February 29, 2020
In this Feb. 17, 2020, file photo, Democratic presidential candidate and former South Bend, Ind. Mayor Pete Buttigieg speaks at The Union Event Center in Salt Lake City. Democratic presidential candidates like to boast about their ability to lure away disaffected Republican voters. If there's a place to test their skills, it's Utah. The deep red state is a bastion of conservative resistance to President Donald Trump. (Spenser Heaps/The Deseret News via AP, File)

Buttigieg ‘extremely vulnerable’ to attack for relying on Navy service

A seven-month deployment in Afghanistan shrouded in secrecy is a key piece of Pete Buttigieg's pitch to voters in the 2020 presidential race, with the former South Bend, Indiana, mayor arguing that his status as a veteran and his time in a war zone give him foreign policy gravitas and first-hand military experience none of his Democratic primary rivals can claim.

February 29, 2020
OSLO, Norway (June 25, 2018) — Kenneth J. Braithwaite, U.S. ambassador to Norway, boards the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Bainbridge (DDG 96) during a scheduled port visit to Oslo, Norway, June 25, 2018. Bainbridge, homeported at Naval Station Norfolk, is conducting naval operations in the U.S. 6th Fleet area of operations in support of U.S. national security interests in Europe and Africa. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Theron J. Godbold/Released)

Kenneth Braithwaite, Navy secretary nominee, Trump campaign support behind delay, backers say

President Trump's Navy secretary pick seems to be slowly sinking. The president tapped U.S. Ambassador to Norway Kenneth Braithwaite, a retired admiral and former naval aviator, for the post three months ago, but key lawmakers on Capitol Hill told The Washington Times that they have yet to hold customary one-on-one meetings with the nominee and confirmed that the White House hasn't sent the formal paperwork to move the nomination forward.

February 26, 2020
Democratic presidential candidate former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg, poses for a photo after a Democratic presidential primary debate at the Gaillard Center, Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2020, in Charleston, S.C., co-hosted by CBS News and the Congressional Black Caucus Institute. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

Pete Buttigieg military service pitch invites ‘Swift Boat’ sequel

A seven-month deployment in Afghanistan shrouded in secrecy is a key piece of Pete Buttigieg's pitch to voters in the 2020 presidential race, with the former South Bend, Indiana, mayor arguing that his status as a veteran and his time in a war zone give him foreign policy gravitas and first-hand military experience none of his Democratic primary rivals can claim.

February 26, 2020
In this Dec. 20, 2019, file photo Defense Secretary Mark Esper speaks during a news conference at the Pentagon in Washington. The Pentagon is adopting new ethical principles as it prepares to accelerate its use of artificial intelligence technology on the battlefield. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh) **FILE**

Pentagon adopts new ethical principles for using artificial intelligence in war

The Pentagon on Monday rolled out a sweeping set of ethical guidelines to govern the use of artificial intelligence on the battlefield, marking a major step forward in the military's campaign to establish firm controls over 21st-century technology and ensure that humans retain control over machines.

February 24, 2020
Under Secretary of Defense for Policy John Rood speaks during a news conference on the 2018 Nuclear Posture Review, at the Pentagon, Friday, Feb. 2, 2018. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) ** FILE **

John Rood, top Pentagon official, to resign

The Pentagon's top policy official was pushed out of his job Wednesday at the direct request of President Trump, marking the latest senior defense official to leave his post in the last six months amid tensions over the extent of White House influence in military affairs.

February 19, 2020
U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper, center, walks Gen. Scott Miller, right, chief of the U.S.-led coalition in Afghanistan, at the U.S. military headquarters in Kabul, Afghanistan, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2019. Esper arrived Sunday in Afghanistan, where stalled peace talks with the Taliban and persistent violent attacks by the insurgent group and Islamic State militants have complicated the Trump administration’s pledge to withdraw more than 5,000 American troops. He told reporters traveling with him that he believes the U.S. can reduce its force in Afghanistan without hurting the counterterrorism fight against al-Qaida and the Islamic State group. (AP Photo/Lolita C. Balbor) **FILE**

U.S., Taliban reach deal for 7-day reduction in violence

The U.S. appears on the verge of finally securing a peace agreement in Afghanistan, top Trump administration officials said Thursday, as they announced a short-term pact with the Taliban that calls for a seven-day reduction in violence across the country to clear the way for intensive direct talks.

February 13, 2020
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and his companies have been the target of verbal attacks by the president. (Associated Press/File)

Amazon seeks to depose Donald Trump in Pentagon war cloud lawsuit

Amazon Web Services wants to depose President Trump and other top administration officials in its lawsuit over the Pentagon's giant cloud computing contract, according to court documents made public Monday, raising the stakes in a case that is shaping up to be a major legal headache for the White House.

February 10, 2020