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Ben Wolfgang

Ben Wolfgang

bwolfgang@washingtontimes.com

Ben Wolfgang is a national security correspondent at The Washington Times, a senior member of its Threat Status team, and the host and producer of the award-winning Threat Status Podcast. Ben covers national security, foreign policy, military affairs, the defense industry and the rapidly evolving landscape of military technology.
A Pennsylvania native, he joined The Washington Times in 2011 after serving as a political reporter at The Republican-Herald in Pottsville, Pa. Over the course of his career, Ben has covered the White House, Congress, and four presidential campaigns.
His reporting has earned recognition from some of journalism's most respected organizations, including the Virginia Press Association and the Society of Professional Journalists' Washington, D.C. Chapter, among other honors.
Ben has interviewed heads of state, chairmen of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, senior military commanders, cabinet secretaries, senior government officials, and the CEOs of many of the nation's largest and most influential defense companies.
Ben is a frequent guest on broadcast media, with appearances on C-SPAN, the Sirius XM POTUS channel, and other outlets.
He can be reached at bwolfgang@washingtontimes.com.

Articles by Ben Wolfgang

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
In this handout photo taken from the Twitter account of Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, shows French President Emmanuel Macron, right, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves le Drian, second right, meeting Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, left in white shirt, Sunday, Aug.25, 2019 in Biarritz, southwestern France. Zarif paid an unannounced visit Sunday to the G-7 summit and headed straight to the buildings where leaders of the world's major democracies have been debating how to handle the country's nuclear ambitions. (Twitter account of Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif via AP)

Javad Zarif G-7 appearance shows U.S., European divisions on Iranian nuclear ambitions

Top Iranian officials made an unexpected visit Sunday to the Group of Seven summit at the apparent invitation of France, a brazen end run around Washington that underscores the deep divide between the U.S. and its key European allies over how to deal with Tehran's nuclear ambitions, its destabilization of the Middle East and its recent attempted attacks on Israel.

August 25, 2019
This photo released by the official website of the Iranian Defense Ministry on Aug. 8, 2019, shows Iranian-made smart bombs during an unveiling ceremony, Iran. The semi-official ILNA news agency quoted Iranian Gen. Mohsen Rezaei on Sunday, Aug. 25, 2019, as denying claims by the Israeli military that it thwarted an imminent Iranian drone attack on Israel, calling that a "lie." (Iranian Defense Ministry via AP)

Israel thwarts Iranian ‘killer drone’ attack

Israel said Sunday it thwarted a major attack by Iranian "killer drones" operating from an air base in Syria, and officials warned Tehran that its forces are not safe anywhere in the region.

August 25, 2019
A Houthi rebel fighter fires in the air during a gathering aimed at mobilizing more fighters for the their movement, in Sanaa, Yemen, Thursday, Aug. 1, 2019. The conflict in Yemen began with the 2014 takeover of Sanaa by the Houthis, who drove out the internationally-recognized government. Months later, in March 2015, a Saudi-led coalition launched its air campaign to prevent the rebels from overrunning the country's south. (AP Photo/Hani Mohammed) **FILE**

U.S. drone shot down in Yemen: Report

Iranian-backed Houthi rebels claimed Wednesday to have shot down a U.S. drone in Yemen earlier this week in what would be the third downing of an American aircraft at the hands of Tehran and its Middle East allies in less than three months.

August 21, 2019
In this April 12, 2018, photo released by Xinhua News Agency, Chinese President Xi Jinping speaks after reviewing the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) navy fleet in the South China Sea. (Li Gang/Xinhua via AP) **FILE**

China could crush U.S. military in Pacific: Report

The era of U.S. dominance in the Pacific is over, a study claims, with China now capable of launching devastating military attacks that could crush American forces in the region in a matter of hours.

August 20, 2019