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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 delivering remarks to members of the media during his meeting with Brazilian Foreign Minister Ernesto Araujo at the Department of State in Washington, Friday, Sept. 13, 2019. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

Mike Pompeo: ‘World’s responsibility’ to confront Iran

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Sunday said it's the "world's responsibility" to work together and rein in an increasingly hostile Iran, again stressing that the U.S. wants to avoid military action in favor of diplomacy.

September 22, 2019
Saudi military spokesman Col. Turki al-Malki displays what he describes as an Iranian cruise missile and drones used in an attack this weekend that targeted the heart of Saudi Arabia's oil industry, during a press conference in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2019. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)

Oil attack ‘unquestionably sponsored by Iran,’ Saudi Arabia says

Last weekend's devastating attack on Saudi Arabia's oil infrastructure was "unquestionably sponsored by Iran," officials in Riyadh said Wednesday morning as they made the case against Tehran and potentially began laying the groundwork for military retaliation.

September 18, 2019
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, right, Russia's President Vladimir Putin, left, and Iran's President Hassan Rouhani arrive for a news conference in Ankara, Turkey, Monday, Sept. 16, 2019. The leaders of Russia, Iran and Turkey met in the Turkish capital to discuss the situation in Syria, with the aim of halting fighting in the northwest of the country and finding a lasting political solution to the 8 1/2 year civil war. (AP Photo/Burhan Ozbilici)

Donald Trump rejects Hassan Rouhani meeting, seeks Iran ‘deterrence’

The Trump administration dispatched Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to Saudi Arabia and hinted at a crackdown on Iran for its suspected role in drone attacks that decimated oil fields east of Riyadh over the weekend, saying it has no intention of backing off its maximum pressure campaign and may go beyond economic sanctions to "restore deterrence" in dealing with Tehran.

September 17, 2019
Smoke rises as Kabul residents set fire to part of the Green Village compound that has been attacked frequently, a day after a Taliban suicide attack in Kabul, Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2019. An interior ministry spokesman said some hundreds of foreigners were rescued after the attack targeted the compound, which houses several international organizations and guesthouses. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)

Taliban strongest since Afghanistan war started in 2001

Afghanistan's Taliban militants steadily amassed power and territory throughout its high-stakes, yearlong peace talks with the Trump administration, and they are now stronger than at any other point in the post-9/11 era, say military observers, who note a systematic plan to gain legitimacy, foment fear through violence and undercut the elected government in Kabul.

September 9, 2019
Smoke rises as angry Kabul residents set fire to part of the Green Village compound that has been attacked frequently, a day after a Taliban suicide attack in Kabul, Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2019. An interior ministry spokesman said some hundreds of foreigners were rescued after the attack targeted the compound, which houses several international organizations and guesthouses. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)

Taliban warns: More Americans are about to die

The Trump administration's decision to call off peace talks in Afghanistan will lead directly to more American deaths, the Taliban warned late Sunday in a shocking message that promised new, deadly attacks.

September 9, 2019
An Army carry team moves a transfer case containing the remains of Sgt. 1st Class Elis Barreto Ortiz, 34, from Morovis, Puerto Rico, past Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2019, at Dover Air Force Base, Del. According to the Department of Defense, Ortiz was killed in action Sept. 5, when a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle in Kabul, Afghanistan. Ortiz was supporting Operation Freedom's Sentinel. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)

Mike Pompeo recalls Afghanistan peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad,

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Sunday that the Trump administration has recalled its envoy to peace talks with the Taliban, dealing a potential death blow to negotiations that hit a low point in recent days following a suicide bombing by the militant group that killed an American soldier near the U.S. Embassy in Kabul.

September 8, 2019
FILE - In a Wednesday, Oct. 26, 2016 file photo, then-Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks in Charlotte, N.C. States are expected to begin canceling GOP presidential caucuses or primaries as part of the party’s effort to shut out the Trump primary challengers, one door at a time. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci, File)

Trump calls off secret Camp David peace talks with Taliban leaders

President Trump has called off talks with Taliban leaders planned for Sunday at Camp David, he tweeted late Saturday, saying that he scrapped what would have been a historic meeting after yet another U.S. soldier died during a Taliban attack in Afghanistan this week.

September 7, 2019
Burning cars are seen inside the Green Village after Monday's suicide bomb attack in Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2019. The attack occurred late Monday near the Green Village, home to several international organizations and guesthouses. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)

Afghanistan peace deal with Taliban meets skepticism from officials

Military and diplomatic officials are taking a skeptical, wait-and-see approach to the Trump administration's unfolding peace talks with the Taliban and urging extreme caution before signing any deal to wind down America's 18-year-old war in Afghanistan.

September 3, 2019