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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

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke wants to use military bases in Alaska and other Pacific states as hubs for exporting fuel. (Associated Press)

Trump administration eyes military to boost blocked gas, coal exports in West

Top Trump administration officials now say they're prepared to enlist the U.S. military in a new mission to help move American coal and natural gas to key markets in Asia, an end-run around political and environmental roadblocks in the West that critics denounced as "harebrained" and a "Putin-like move."

October 15, 2018
President Donald Trump speaks at a rally Monday, Oct. 1, 2018, in Johnson City, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

Trump Space Force, parade scuttled with inflating cost

An eye-poppingly high price tag sank President Trump's plans for a military parade through the streets of Washington. Now, some experts say opponents are using the same creative budgeting to scuttle -- or at least delay -- the creation of a U.S. Space Force.

October 1, 2018
President Donald Trump talks with Lockheed Martin president and CEO Marilyn Hewson and director and chief test pilot Alan Norman in front of a F-35 as he participates in a "Made in America Product Showcase" at the White House, Monday, July 23, 2018, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) ** FILE **

Lockheed Martin again cuts price for military’s F-35 jet

In a move that's sure to please President Trump, top military contractor Lockheed Martin said Friday it's slashing the price of the groundbreaking F-35 aircraft just a day after the fighter jet flew its first combat missions in Afghanistan.

September 28, 2018
President Donald Trump gives a thumbs up while speaking to Navy and shipyard personnel aboard nuclear aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford, Thursday, March 2, 2017, at Newport News Shipbuilding in Newport News, Va. The ship which is still under construction is due to be delivered to the Navy later this year. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

Poland ‘Fort Trump’ offer aims to cement U.S. military ties

For a man who built a billion-dollar brand around the use of his name on everything from steaks to casinos and high-rises before coming to the White House, President Trump is now looking at a potential military deal with Poland he will find hard to refuse.

September 27, 2018
In this Nov. 13, 2012, file photo Czech Republic's President Vaclav Klaus speaks during a joint news conference with his Austrian counterpart Heinz Fischer, unseen, at the Hofburg palace in Vienna, Austria. (AP Photo/Ronald Zak, File)

Vaclav Klaus seeks European revolution against EU

NEWSMAKER INTERVIEW: Former Czech President Vaclav Klaus argues that Europe desperately needs to be liberated from the clutches of globalists and multiculturalists, and from a European Union bent on imposing open borders and crushing the principle of sovereign rights.

September 25, 2018
Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein reportedly suggested in May 2017 that he wear a wire and secretly record his conversations with President Trump. (Associated Press/File)

Rod Rosenstein investigation needed, Republicans say

Top Republicans on Sunday called for the appointment of a new special counsel to examine the apparent deep-seated, anti-Trump animus inside the Justice Department, citing revelations that Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein discussed secretly recording the president.

September 23, 2018
In this June 4, 2017, 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 for first time in over a decade

Blaming increased competition in a strong private-sector economy and the fact that "nobody wants to talk" to recruiters on the phone or face to face these days, Army officials said Friday they missed their recruiting goal this year for the first time in well over a decade.

September 21, 2018
Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during the joint news conference with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan following the talks in the Bocharov Ruchei residence in the Black Sea resort of Sochi in Sochi, Russia, Monday, Sept. 17, 2018. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan meets for the second time in 10 days with Russia's Vladimir Putin. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, Pool)

Syrian missile accidentally brings down Russian plane, killing 15; Moscow blames Israel

Just 24 hours after a last-minute deal stopped a looming government assault on the Syrian rebel stronghold of Idlib, the inadvertent downing of a Russian reconnaissance plane over the Mediterranean Sea provided a stark illustration of how difficult it will be to forge a lasting peace deal, as Russia and Israel traded blame for the incident and the deaths of all 15 crew members on board.

September 18, 2018
Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan shake hands after their joint news conference following the talks in the Bocharov Ruchei residence in the Black Sea resort of Sochi in Sochi, Russia, Monday, Sept. 17, 2018. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, Pool) ** FILE **

Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Vladimir Putin set Syria deal on demilitarized zone

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Monday that he had struck a deal with Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan to table a planned offensive against the Syrian rebel stronghold of Idlib, a last-minute agreement that led all sides of the 7-year-old conflict to breathe a sigh of relief despite a host of unanswered questions about whether the so-called demilitarized zone will hold.

September 17, 2018
Muhammed Halife, 5, says he was injured during a bombing west Idlib, Syria. Government forces, backed by Russia and Iran, have been massing troops for weeks in preparation for an attack on Idlib province, the last major rebel stronghold in the country.The U.N. has warned that a battle will spark a humanitarian catastrophe. (Associated Press/File)

Bashar Assad’s Idlib attack to test U.S. Syria, Russia policy

With Bashar Assad and his Russian allies on the verge of victory in Syria's civil war, the Trump administration is facing new pressure to respond forcefully and prevent a bloodbath of historic proportions -- but analysts say the U.S. has virtually no good options, as seven years of muddy American policy toward Syria has left Moscow holding all the cards.

September 16, 2018