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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

The presence of low-yield nuclear weapons won't have any major impact on the Navy's fundamental strategy at sea, military officials say. (Associated Press/File)

Pentagon deploys new submarine-launched nuclear weapon

The Pentagon on Tuesday announced the deployment of its first new nuclear weapon in decades and in the process issued a clear warning to Moscow, a move critics say represents a return to Cold War-era brinkmanship that makes the prospect of a deadly nuclear miscalculation far more likely.

February 4, 2020
In this Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2019, file photo, Afghan security personnel gather at the site of a car bomb attack in Kabul, Afghanistan.  (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul, File) **FILE**

Asad Khan, Pakistan envoy, says U.S., Taliban forced to negotiate

NEWSMAKER INTERVIEW: America has exhausted all of its military options in Afghanistan and is left with little choice but to forge ahead in peace talks with the Taliban, Pakistani Ambassador to the U.S. Asad M. Khan said Monday, underscoring the high stakes of grueling negotiations.

February 3, 2020
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo holds a joint news conference with Kazakh Foreign Minister Mukhtar Tleuberdi at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan, Sunday, Feb. 2, 2020. (Kevin Lamarque/Pool Photo via AP)

Mike Pompeo: Do business with U.S., not China

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Sunday warned nations against doing business with Chinese companies, laying out a series of concerns -- from a lack of transparency to weak environmental protections -- that come along with any deals with Beijing.

February 2, 2020
In this Monday, Jan. 13, 2020 photo, U.S. soldiers stand at the spot hit by Iranian bombing at Ain al-Asad air base, in Anbar, Iraq. Ain al-Asad air base was struck by a barrage of Iranian missiles on Wednesday, in retaliation for the U.S. drone strike that killed a top Iranian commander Gen. Qassem Soleimani. (AP Photo/Qassim Abdul-Zahra)

34 U.S. troops suffered brain injuries in Iranian attack, Pentagon says

Thirty-four U.S. troops suffered traumatic brain injuries as a result of the Jan. 8 Iranian ballistic missile attack on an American military base in Iraq, Pentagon officials said Friday, revealing that many more service members were affected by the strike than initially reported.

January 24, 2020
Despite President Trump's efforts to pull American forces from a "forever war" in Syria, Pentagon leaders said the mission to protect vital oil fields from ISIS has expanded and now includes a directive to keep anyone — including the Russian military and Syrian dictator Bashar Assad's forces — away from the energy reserves. (Associated Press file photo)

U.S.-Russia ‘engagements’ show risk of oil mission in Syria

President Trump says he is determined to keep control of Syrian oil fields as the country's civil war plays out, but exactly how far the U.S. military is willing to go to protect those valuable energy reserves remains a mystery and represents a key question for the administration's broader policy in the Middle East.

January 22, 2020
In this Jan. 4, 2011, file photo, U.S Army Capt. Mathew Golsteyn, right, is congratulated by fellow soldiers following the Valor Awards ceremony for 3rd Special Forces Group at Fort Bragg, N.C. (James Robinson/The Fayetteville Observer via AP) ** FILE **

Trump silent on Maj. Mathew Golsteyn as Army launches review

President Trump has remained silent this week as the Army launches a review into the case of Army Maj. Mathew L. Golsteyn, potentially laying the groundwork for another standoff between the military and the commander in chief.

January 16, 2020