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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 Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' capture Friday of the British oil tanker Stena Impero indicates that Iran is deadly serious about its policy of trying to control all maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz. (Associated Press)

Iran eyes ‘toll’ on Strait of Hormuz ships

Iran reiterated Sunday that it will pursue a "toll" on all ships traveling in the Strait of Hormuz -- the latest escalation of a global crisis that threatens the movement of oil through the Middle East and may force a reluctant Britain to impose fresh economic sanctions on Tehran.

July 21, 2019
Sailors stand on deck above a hole the U.S. Navy says was made by a limpet mine on the damaged Panama-flagged, Japanese owned oil tanker Kokuka Courageous, anchored off Fujairah, United Arab Emirates, during a trip organized by the Navy for journalists, Wednesday, June 19, 2019. The limpet mines used to attack a Japanese-owned oil tanker near the Strait of Hormuz last week bore “a striking resemblance” to similar mines previously seen in Iran, a U.S. Navy explosives expert said Wednesday, stopping short of directly blaming Tehran for the assault. (AP Photo/Fay Abuelgasim) **FILE**

U.S. Navy shoots down Iranian drone in Strait of Hormuz

The U.S. Navy shot down a "threatening" Iranian drone over international waters in the Strait of Hormuz Thursday, President Trump and Pentagon officials said, adding fresh fuel to already simmering tensions between the two nations.

July 18, 2019
In this March 29, 2019, photo, a U.S. F-35A fighter jet prepares to land at Chungju Air Base in Chungju, South Korea. (Kang Jong-min/Newsis via AP) **FILE**

U.S. formally kicks Turkey out of F-35 program

The Trump administration on Wednesday began to formally kick Turkey out of the F-35 fighter jet program, making good on its threat to punish Ankara for moving ahead with the purchase of the Russian-made S-400 missile system.

July 17, 2019
President Donald Trump, joined by Acting Secretary of Defense Mark Esper, right, and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Joseph Dunford, left, stands on stage in the rain during an Independence Day celebration in front of the Lincoln Memorial, Thursday, July 4, 2019, in Washington. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Mark Esper, defense secretary nominee, ready for Senate showdown

Mark Esper will face the brightest spotlight of his career Tuesday as the Senate takes up his nomination to become defense secretary, but experts say the former Raytheon executive may be uniquely qualified to weather the storm as Democrats use his confirmation hearing as a forum to bash President Trump's foreign and national security policies.

July 15, 2019
Secretary of the Navy Richard Spencer, left, laughs while waiting with Acting President of the U.S. Naval War College Dr. Lewis Duncan, right, prior to the U.S. Naval War College's commencement ceremony, Friday, June 14, 2019, in Newport, R.I. (AP Photo/Stew Milne) ** FILE **

Richard Spencer takes over as acting Pentagon chief

Navy Secretary Richard Spencer took over Monday afternoon as acting defense secretary, Pentagon officials said, with the brief leadership change expected to last no more than several weeks.

July 15, 2019
Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan smiles as he addresses a conference on judicial reform strategy, in Ankara, Turkey, Thursday, May 30, 2019. (Presidential Press Service via AP, Pool) ** FILE **

Russian S-400 defense systems arrive in Turkey

Turkey on Friday received its first shipment of the Russian-made S-400 missile system, ignoring repeated warnings from the Trump administration and raising the very real risk of U.S. economic sanctions.

July 12, 2019
U.S. Ambassador Jackie Wolcott, in front, and Iran's Ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency, IAEA, Gharib Abadi, background right, wait for the start of the IAEA board of governors meeting at the International Center in Vienna, Austria, Wednesday, July 10, 2019. (AP Photo/Ronald Zak)

U.S. threatens Iran with sanctions at emergency IAEA meeting

The U.S. confronted Iran on the world stage Wednesday and threatened even more crushing economic sanctions if Tehran doesn't halt its uranium enrichment program, but the Trump administration also found itself on the defensive at home and abroad over how it has handled the escalating crisis.

July 10, 2019
This file image released by the U.S. Department of Defense Monday, June 17, 2019, and taken from a U.S. Navy helicopter, shows what the Navy says are members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy removing an unexploded limpet mine from the M/T Kokuka Courageous. A series of attacks on oil tankers near the Persian Gulf has ratcheted up tensions between the U.S. and Iran — and raised fears over the safety of one of Asia’s most vital energy trade routes, where about a fifth of the world’s oil passes through its narrowest at the Strait of Hormuz. (U.S. Department of Defense via AP, File)

Pentagon crafting plan to counter Iranian ship attacks

The Pentagon is crafting a multinational plan to stop further Iranian attacks on commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz and elsewhere in the region, top military officials said Tuesday, detailing the international community's approach to ensure oil tankers and other vessels can move safely.

July 10, 2019
In this June 4, 2017, file photo. new Army recruits take part in a swearing-in ceremony before a baseball game between the San Diego Padres and the Colorado Rockies in San Diego. The Army has missed its recruiting goal for the first time in more than a decade. Army leaders tell The Associated Press they signed up about 70,000 new troops for the fiscal year that ends Sept. 30, 2018. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull, File)

Army misses recruiting goal in booming economy

Booming employment markets made it difficult for military recruiters to pitch men and women on a career in the armed forces, according to researchers, who say the correlation has held true for at least a half-century.

July 7, 2019
Space shuttle Endeavour clears the launch pad at Cape Canaveral, Fla., on Monday, May 16, 2011. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

Pentagon seeks ‘orbital outpost’ in space

The Defense Department is seeking a "self-contained and free flying orbital outpost" to serve as a hub for experimentation and testing for the military's 21st-century space program.

July 3, 2019
In this photo released by the official website of the office of the Iranian Presidency, President Hassan Rouhani attends a meeting with the Health Ministry officials, in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, June 25, 2019. (Iranian Presidency Office via AP) ** FILE **

Iran blows past limit on enriched uranium stockpiles, blames Trump

Iran has broken through the international limit on its stockpile of uranium in the 2015 nuclear deal and is poised to dramatically ramp up enrichment, officials in Tehran said Monday as they blamed President Trump for kick-starting a crisis and put the burden on the U.S. and Europe to find a way out.

July 1, 2019
Mark T. Esper, who became acting defense secretary two weeks ago, will have to step down while he goes through the Senate confirmation process for a permanent position, meaning the Pentagon will have a fourth leader since the end of December. (Associated Press/File)

Mark Esper, acting defense secretary, to make way for Pentagon’s fourth leader in six months

President Trump's decision to slow-walk the installation of a permanent defense secretary, coupled with an obscure federal staffing law, has left the Pentagon poised to get its fourth leader in just the past six months -- all while military tensions between the U.S. and Iran remain at a boiling point and a massive defense policy bill is making its way through Congress.

June 30, 2019