Skip to content
TRENDING:
Donald Trump
Advertisement
Author profile
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

North Korean state media said leader Kim Jong-un observed live-fire drills Saturday of long-range multiple rocket launchers and unspecified tactical guided weapons. (Associated Press)

North Korea missile tests could upend Trump-Kim diplomacy, GOP lawmakers warn

The Trump administration on Sunday downplayed North Korea's weapons tests, vowing to press on with its diplomatic outreach even as lawmakers -- including some of President Trump's closest Republican allies -- warned that the weekend missile launches strained the fragile relationship between Washington and Pyongyang.

May 5, 2019
The Pentagon vehemently denies that the White House exerted any political pressure throughout the process for awarding the Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure (JEDI) contract, which ultimately went to Microsoft. (Associated Press/File)

Sexual assaults in military jumped nearly 38% last year

Sexual assaults in the military increased dramatically over the past two years, new Defense Department data show, sparking outrage from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle who charged Thursday that the Pentagon is failing the nation's women and men in uniform.

May 2, 2019
Opponents to Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro face off with Bolivarian National Guards in armored vehicles who are loyal to the president, during an attempted military uprising in Caracas, Venezuela, Tuesday, April 30, 2019. Opposition leader Juan Guaido took to the streets with a small contingent of heavily armed troops in a call for the military to rise up and oust Maduro. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

Juan Guaido Venezuela ‘final phase’ to push Nicolas Maduro from power

Violence erupted in the streets of Caracas on Tuesday as U.S.-backed Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido unexpectedly launched what he called the "final phase" of his campaign to drive socialist President Nicolas Maduro from power, urging supporters and members of the military to mount an all-out rebellion and take control of the government.

April 30, 2019
National Security Adviser John Bolton speaks about Venezuela outside the West Wing of the White House, Tuesday, April 30, 2019, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

John Bolton Venezuela chaos rhetoric reveals Trump stake in crisis

Thousands of miles from the chaos that erupted in Caracas, Venezuela, on Tuesday, White House National Security Adviser John R. Bolton directed a string of unusually sharp threats at socialist President Nicolas Maduro and found himself embroiled in a Twitter war of his own with one of Mr. Maduro's top deputies.

April 30, 2019
In this photo reviewed by U.S. military officials, the control tower is seen through the razor wire inside the Camp VI detention facility, Wednesday, April 17, 2019, in Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

John Ring Gitmo firing ignites prison, detainee firestorm

With its price tag rising each day as the inmate population grows older and sicker, the sudden firing of the top commander at Guantanamo Bay adds fresh fuel to the debate over the prison's future and highlights a political, logistical and legal minefield that neither the Obama nor the Trump administration has managed to navigate.

April 29, 2019
This March 19, 2019, file photo shows the view of the construction site of the receiving station of the Baltic Sea pipeline "Nord Stream 2" near Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Lubmin. The 1,200-kilometer-long gas pipeline will transport around 55 billion cubic meters of Russian natural gas from Russia to Germany every year. The first Russian natural gas is expected to flow through the Nord Stream 2 Baltic Sea pipeline at the end of the year. So far, a third of the cables have been laid. Work in Germany is concentrated on the landing site near Lubmin. (Photo by: Stefan Sauer/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images)

Russia German Nord Stream 2 pipeline to open despite U.S. pressure

Despite years of behind-the-scenes cajoling and open threats of economic sanctions from two U.S. administrations, Washington appears to have failed to dissuade Germany from moving ahead with the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline -- and Moscow now boasts that the massive Russia-to-Europe project is just months from completion.

April 24, 2019
In this April 2, 2019, file photo traders Neal Catania, left, and Benjamin Tuchman work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)

Donald Trump end to Iran oil waivers threatens to energy markets

As global oil prices spiked to a six-month high, China, Turkey and other key international players rebuked the Trump administration's move Monday to choke off their Iranian fuel imports while experts warned that the escalation of Washington's economic war against Tehran could spark chaos in energy markets and may backfire politically.

April 22, 2019
In this April 9, 2019, file photo provided by the North Korean government, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un addresses the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea in Pyongyang. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP, File)

North Korea test-fires new tactical guided weapon

North Korea on Wednesday tested a powerful new "tactical guided weapon," according to state-run media in Pyongyang, boasting that the missile will dramatically increase the country's "combat power" and ability to defend itself from attack.

April 17, 2019
Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan recently called for a review of the 2017 attack in Niger that killed four U.S. Green Berets and sparked a political backlash among lawmakers. appears before a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, April 11, 2019, on the proposed Space Force. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

Patrick Shanahan makes statement with review of deadly 2017 ambush in Niger

By ordering another look at a deadly 2017 ambush of U.S. troops in Niger, acting Defense Secretary Patrick M. Shanahan could put his own stamp on America's role in Africa — and attempt to reassure a skeptical Congress that he's fully capable of managing thorny politics inside the Pentagon on a permanent basis.

April 17, 2019
President Donald J. Trump spoke at Nuss Truck and Equipment in Burnsville during a roundtable discussion on tax cuts and the U.S. economy in Burnsville, Minn., on Monday, April 15, 2019. At right is the president of Nuss Truck and Equipment Bob Nuss. (Renee Jones Schneider/Star Tribune via AP)

Kim-Putin summit could complicate U.S. diplomacy

With President Trump's diplomatic outreach stalled, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will seek to expand his options and cultivate new allies during a long-rumored meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the coming days.

April 16, 2019
South Korean President Moon Jae-in waves before leaving for the United States at Seoul Air Base in Seongnam, South Korea, Wednesday, April 10, 2019. Moon will meet with U.S. President Donald Trump. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

Moon Jae-in, South Korea president, aims to bridge divide between U.S., North Korea

As North Korea digs in its heels amid a "tense" relationship with the U.S., South Korean President Moon Jae-in arrived in Washington on Wednesday for a key meeting with President Trump -- an opportunity, experts say, for Mr. Moon to seize the moment and pave a path forward in the stalled denuclearization talks between Washington and Pyongyang.

April 10, 2019
A U.S. amphibious hovercraft departs with evacuees from Janzur, west of Tripoli, Libya, Sunday, April 7, 2019. The United States says it has temporarily withdrawn some of its forces from Libya due to deteriorating security conditions. The pullout comes as a Libyan commander's forces advanced toward the capital of Tripoli and clashed with rival militias. A small contingent of American troops has been in Libya in recent years helping local forces combat Islamic State and al-Qaida militants and protecting diplomatic facilities. (AP Photo/Mohammed Omar Aburas)

U.S. pulls military forces from Libya

The U.S. announced Sunday an abrupt withdrawal of military forces from Tripoli amid a deteriorating security situation and growing belief that Libyan militia leader Gen. Khalifa Hifter is on the verge of capturing full control of the country's capital.

April 7, 2019