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Ben Wolfgang

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

Iraq turns to China ‘Belt and Road,’ boosting Beijing clout in Middle East

China's path to economic dominance in the 21st century runs directly through the Middle East, with Beijing banking on forging multibillion-dollar partnerships with Iraq, Pakistan and even war-torn Syria to provide fuel in its quest to supplant the U.S. as the world's top power.

February 9, 2020

With ‘no military solution’ in sight, U.S. forced to talk peace with Taliban despite ongoing attacks

The two sides have reached a crucial moment -- despite continued Taliban attacks and a spike in American strikes against the radical Islamist movement's top targets -- to solidify a cease-fire agreement that could wind down two decades of conflict and bring to a close the longest war in U.S. history.

February 8, 2020

Red alert, Russia: Pentagon arms Navy submarines with tactical nuclear weapons

The Pentagon on this week 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 8, 2020

Defense industry ‘report card’ finds that U.S. lags on cybersecurity

The vaunted American military-industrial machine is in decline and is quickly losing ground to China, defense leaders said Wednesday in a stunning new self-examination that lays out a host of shortcomings and warns of major ramifications for U.S. national security.

February 5, 2020

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

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

London stabbings: Police shoot man in ‘terrorism-related incident’

London police shot and killed a man in the city's Streatham section after a "terrorist-related" stabbing that left two people wounded, officials said Sunday.

February 2, 2020

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

Iran attack: 14 more U.S. troops suffered brain injuries, Pentagon says

For the second time this week, the Defense Department on Thursday night revised the number of U.S. troops who suffered traumatic brain injuries during a Jan. 8 Iranian rocket attack on an American military base.

January 30, 2020

Reports of sexual assault at military academies jump 32%, Pentagon says

The number of reported sexual assault cases at U.S. military academies jumped by 32% last academic year, military officials said Thursday in a sweeping new report.

January 30, 2020

Mark Esper U.S. troop reduction plan in Africa blasted as terror attacks increase

The Pentagon is facing a firestorm of opposition to plans to cut troop levels in Africa. Regional analysts and military insiders from Capitol Hill to the capitals of Europe are warning that any reductions could fuel a resurgent terrorist goal of making mincemeat out of the continent.

January 29, 2020

Pentagon pours millions into anti-hypersonics program to counter Russia

The Pentagon is pouring millions of dollars into a new program to counter Russian hypersonic weapons as the military races to keep pace with U.S. foes.

January 29, 2020

50 U.S. troops suffered traumatic brain injuries in Iran attack, Pentagon now says

The Pentagon on Tuesday night again revised the number of troops who suffered traumatic brain injuries during a Jan. 8 Iranian rocket attack in Iraq, now saying that 50 service members were affected.

January 28, 2020

Eddie Gallagher, retired Navy SEAL, vows to clear name: ‘The truth is coming’

Retired Navy SEAL Edward Gallagher vowed that "the truth is coming" and cast some of his former platoon members as "cowards" in a dramatic video posted to social media sites late Monday, catapulting his saga -- and President Trump's controversial pardon -- back into the national spotlight.

January 28, 2020

Pentagon confirms that U.S. military plane crashed in Afghanistan

An American military plane crashed in eastern Afghanistan on Monday, Pentagon officials said, though it remains unclear whether any U.S. service members were killed.

January 27, 2020

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

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