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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

Pakistani soldiers patrol in the area where Indian planes launched a pre-dawn airstrike inside Pakistan. Pakistan's military said Wednesday it shot down two Indian warplanes in the disputed region of Kashmir and captured two pilots. (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

India-Pakistan tensions boiling over

Long-simmering tensions boiled over into direct clashes Wednesday as Pakistan shot down two Indian fighter jets and took one pilot hostage, fueling the possibility of all-out war as the Trump administration and world leaders pleaded with the two nuclear-armed states and South Asian rivals to step back from open conflict.

February 27, 2019
Pakistani protesters burn an effigy of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a rally in Peshawar, Pakistan, Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2019. Pakistan's military said Wednesday it shot down two Indian warplanes in the disputed region of Kashmir and captured two pilots, raising tensions between the nuclear-armed rivals to a level unseen in 20 years. (AP Photo/Muhammad Sajjad)

Mike Pompeo tries to calm India-Pakistan tensions: ‘Avoid escalation at any cost’

Long-simmering tensions boiled over into direct clashes Wednesday as Pakistan shot down two Indian fighter jets and took one pilot hostage, fueling the possibility of all-out war as the Trump administration and world leaders pleaded with the two nuclear-armed states and South Asian rivals to step back from open conflict.

February 27, 2019
In this Oct. 9, 2007, file photo, reviewed by a U.S. Dept of Defense official, U.S. military personnel inspect each occupied cell on a two-minute cycle at Camp 5 maximum-security facility on the Guantanamo Bay U.S. Naval Base in Cuba. An effort to decrease the detainee population appears to have bogged down as authorities wrestle with what to do with those who cannot easily be brought to trial but are considered too dangerous to free, and others who have been cleared for release but can’t be sent to their home countries. (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley, File)

Guantanamo Bay prison detainees not an option for Donald Trump

President Trump's campaign promise to "load up" the U.S. detention facility at Guantanamo Bay with captives from the war on terror has gone nowhere, and he has joined his predecessor in failing to follow through on plans for the controversial prison on the southeastern tip of Cuba.

February 21, 2019
Children wave Iranian flags during a ceremony celebrating the 40th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution, at the Azadi, Freedom, Square in Tehran, Iran, Monday, Feb. 11, 2019. Hundreds of thousands of people poured out onto the streets of Tehran and other cities and towns across Iran, marking the date 40 years ago that is considered victory day in the country's 1979 Islamic Revolution. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

U.S. YouTube video pits Iranian citizens against regime

The Trump administration on Tuesday made a direct appeal to the Iranian people to reject what it called the "corrupt religious mafia" running their country, rolling out a targeted social media campaign to paint the government in Tehran as an oppressive force more focused on exporting violence and funding terrorism than caring for its own population.

February 19, 2019
A group of suspected al Qaeda militants accused in the killing of an army general in a suicide bombing stand trial at a state security court in Sanaa, Yemen, in this April 22, 2014 file photo. (Associated Press) **FILE**

Iran-al Qaeda alliance may provide legal rationale for U.S. military strikes

Iran is providing high-level al Qaeda operatives with a clandestine sanctuary to funnel fighters, money and weapons across the Middle East, according to Trump administration officials who warn that the long-elusive, complex relationship between two avowed enemies of America has evolved into an unacceptable global security threat.

February 18, 2019
In this March 13, 2018, photo, President Donald Trump reviews border wall prototypes in San Diego. (Associated Press) ** FILE **

Donald Trump has up to $21 billion to use for emergency wall building

President Trump has a pool of roughly $21 billion in military construction funds he can use to build the border wall by emergency declaration, congressional aides said Thursday -- though much of that is already destined for other projects that would have to be put on hold.

February 14, 2019
Acting U.S. Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan talks to journalists during a press conference at the second day of a NATO defense ministers meeting at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Thursday, Feb. 14, 2019. NATO defense ministers are discussing the future of the alliance's operation in Afghanistan and how best to use its military presence to support political talks aimed at ending the conflict. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

Patrick Shanahan: U.S. will not unilaterally pull troops from Afghanistan

The U.S. will not unilaterally pull its forces from Afghanistan and any drawdown will be done in close consultation with NATO allies, acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan said Thursday in comments that raise questions about the Trump administration's strategy to exit a war zone in which it's operated for 17 years.

February 14, 2019
Acting Defense Secretary Pat Shanahan, left, arrives in Kabul, Afghanistan, Monday morning, Feb. 11, 2019, to consult with Army Gen. Scott Miller, right, commander of U.S. and coalition forces, and senior Afghan government leaders. The unannounced visit is the first for the acting secretary of defense, Pat Shanahan. He previously was the No. 2 official under Jim Mattis, who resigned as defense chief in December. (AP Photo/Robert Burns)

Patrick Shanahan: No U.S. military Afghanistan withdraw order from Trump

With an Afghanistan peace deal seemingly within reach, Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan made a surprise trip to the country Monday to visit U.S. troops and meet with top government officials in Kabul, his first trip abroad since taking over the Pentagon's top job last month.

February 11, 2019
This frame grab from video posted online Friday, Jan. 18, 2019, by supporters of the Islamic State group, purports to show an ISIS fighter firing a weapon during clashes with members of the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, in the eastern Syrian province of Deir el-Zour, Syria. (Militant Photo via AP) ** FILE **

Leaked Islamic State recruiting documents dispel stereotypes of terrorists

A sweeping 40-page report by the King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies challenges the notion that the Islamist terror group, also known as ISIS, expanded by attracting disenfranchised foreign young men with few skills who lack legitimate opportunities in society.

February 7, 2019
President Trump's approval ratings jumped several points after his State of the Union address, but he is facing a fight over border wall money, a looming report from special counsel Robert Mueller and lousy poll numbers among female voters. (Associated Press/File)

Donald Trump says Russia nuclear treaty must include China

China's status as a rising global power has rendered Cold War-era missile pacts between Washington and Moscow obsolete, and President Trump this week signaled the only way such agreements can be preserved is if Beijing also is willing to limit its burgeoning military capabilities as well.

February 6, 2019
Salih

Iraqi leaders slam Donald Trump’s comments over using country as base

President Trump's statement Sunday that he plans to keep U.S. troops stationed in Iraq indefinitely sparked an uproar in Baghdad on Monday, complicating an already tense relationship and potentially throwing a wrench into U.S. plans to contain Iran and monitor neighboring Syria.

February 4, 2019
In this Oct. 26, 2010 file photograph, a worker rides a bicycle in front of the reactor building of the Bushehr nuclear power plant, just outside the southern Iranian city of Bushehr. (AP Photo/Mehr News Agency, Majid Asgaripour, File) **FILE**

Britain, France, Germany launch new trade system with Iran

Saying they remain committed to the Iran nuclear deal despite the U.S. exit last year, the United Kingdom, France and Germany late Thursday announced plans to launch a new joint system allowing them to trade with Tehran.

February 1, 2019
Opposition National Assembly President Juan Guaido takes part in a walkout against President Nicolas Maduro, in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2019. The 35-year-lawmaker has transformed from a little-known opposition figure into a commanding force in the nation's politics with the backing of U.S. President Donald Trump and two dozen other nations recognizing him as Venezuela's interim president. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

Trump call to Juan Guaido boosts opposition for Venezuela walkout

A fresh wave of protests swept Venezuela Wednesday as U.S.-backed opposition leader Juan Guaido ramped up a pressure campaign to oust embattled President Nicolas Maduro, who remained defiant in the face of rising economic pressure and international calls for a new election.

January 30, 2019