Ben Wolfgang
Articles by Ben Wolfgang
FBI says China-backed hackers hit telecommunications sector; Trump, Vance phones reportedly targeted
The federal government on Friday said it is investigating a Chinese hack of the U.S. telecommunications infrastructure, and former President Donald Trump and Republican vice presidential nominee J.D. Vance are reportedly among those targeted in the operation. Published October 25, 2024
Policies blocked, Harris faces questions on what’s next with Iran
Kamala Harris has vowed that on her watch as president, Iran will never obtain a nuclear weapon. But it's not clear how the vice president and Democratic White House hopeful would turn that promise into a reality if she's elected on Nov. 5. Published October 21, 2024
Zelenskyy’s long-promised blueprint to end Russia war draws mixed reviews
The Ukraine-Russia war could end next year on terms favorable to Kyiv if the U.S. and NATO back an ambitious -- and, by most accounts, unrealistic -- five-point victory plan, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Wednesday as he outlined a proposal that seemed to fall flat across much of the West. Published October 16, 2024
Harris, Trump take starkly different strategies toward war in Ukraine
The Ukraine-Russia war has emerged as the biggest foreign policy flashpoint of the 2024 presidential race, one that both Donald Trump and Kamala Harris have seized on to paint the other as weak, ineffective and even dangerous. Published October 14, 2024
Terrorist threat signal ‘blinking red’ for U.S.; Biden ‘weak’ as jihadis regroup
Foreign terrorist groups such as the Islamic State and al Qaeda, and even Iran-allied forces such as Hezbollah and Hamas, pose an immediate threat to the American homeland and warrant a serious response by the Biden administration, key House Republicans said in a new report. Published October 3, 2024
U.S. won’t back Israeli strike on Iran nukes as conflict expands, Biden says
President Biden said Wednesday that the U.S. won't back Israeli strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities, the first clear marker from Washington as Israel weighs its response to the massive ballistic missile assault from Tehran a day earlier. Published October 2, 2024
Israel vows retaliation as Iran launches new salvo of missiles
Iran launched nearly 200 ballistic missiles at Israel on Tuesday, and Israeli civilians across the country were ordered to remain near bomb shelters, while President Biden ordered the U.S. military to help repel the assault as the conflict across the Middle East escalated. Published October 1, 2024
Iran’s supreme leader reportedly moved to secure location amid fears of Israeli strike
Israel said it targeted another top Hezbollah commander on Sunday, just two days after it killed the group's longtime leader, Hassan Nasrallah, in an airstrike in Beirut, while Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was reportedly moved to a secure location inside Iran amid fears that Israel may target him as well. Published September 29, 2024
U.S. kills dozens of ISIS, al Qaeda-linked fighters in pair of major Syria airstrikes
U.S. forces in recent days carried out a pair of major airstrikes across Syria, killing key terrorist figures and dozens of fighters linked to the Islamic State and al Qaeda, the Pentagon said Sunday in a statement. Published September 29, 2024
Risk of wider war grows in Mideast after Hezbollah chief Nasrallah killed in Israeli airstrike
Hassan Nasrallah, the longtime leader of the terrorist group Hezbollah, was killed by an Israeli airstrike Friday in Beirut in a major blow to the Lebanon-based organization and its chief patron, Iran. Published September 28, 2024
No way out? Biden latest U.S. president trapped by Mideast mayhem
President Biden came to power aiming to do the impossible: Dramatically shrink America's military footprint in the Middle East and redirect Washington's focus away from a volatile corner of the world that has consumed U.S. foreign policy for more than two decades. Published September 24, 2024
U.S. seizes Venezuelan President Maduro’s official airplane
The U.S. reportedly seized Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's official airplane and flew it to America on Monday, marking a major escalation in the standoff between Washington and Caracas just weeks after the Biden administration accused Mr. Maduro of essentially stealing the country's July presidential election. Published September 2, 2024
Israeli judge cuts work stoppage short, but furious Netanyahu gets message
A court ordered tens of thousands of Israelis back to work Monday, ending a short-lived but widespread strike that cast a spotlight on the political divisions and growing anger in the country after the weekend deaths of six Israeli hostages held by the terrorist group Hamas. Published September 2, 2024
‘Take to the streets’: Anger toward Netanyahu hits fever pitch after 6 hostages found dead
Anger in Israel boiled over Sunday after the nation's military said it recovered the bodies of six Hamas hostages, including a young Israeli American man. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu apologized to the hostages' families as protests decrying his leadership erupted across the country. Published September 1, 2024
U.S. poised to determine direction of Ukraine-Russia war; Kursk operation provides new opportunity
Ukraine's stunning military offensive across the border in Kursk has fundamentally reshaped the dynamics of a war that previously looked to be shifting heavily in Russia's favor. But Kyiv's momentum in the coming days and weeks may be largely dependent on what the U.S. does next. Published August 27, 2024
House Republicans press FBI for more information on Iran’s role in plot to kill Trump
Key House Republicans are demanding answers from the Biden administration about the recent arrest of a Pakistani man in connection with an alleged Iranian plot to kill U.S. officials, presumably including former President Donald Trump, and about an apparent string of threats to American political figures emanating from Tehran. Published August 16, 2024
Ominous signs on a grim anniversary for U.S., Afghanistan
Three years after the frenzied U.S. pullout and Taliban victory, a bleak view of Afghanistan's present and future is not uncommon among those who served there. Published August 15, 2024
Not just ‘local’: Ex-diplomat sees merging of anti-U.S., anti-Israel forces in Oct. 7 rampage
The Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel should not be seen as a strictly local event playing out in one corner of the Middle East but rather as a piece of a much broader global movement against both Israel and U.S. interests and allies around the world, a former senior Israeli diplomat warned Tuesday. Published August 6, 2024
Ukrainian President Zelenskyy hails the arrival of U.S.-made F16 fighter jets
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced the long-awaited arrival of American-made F-16 fighter jets, calling it a "new stage" for Ukraine's air war with Russia. Published August 4, 2024
Opposition leader joins protests in Venezuela as backlash over election grows
The leader of Venezuela's political opposition joined protests Saturday in Caracas, blasting socialist President Nicolas Maduro's "repression" of his people. Published August 4, 2024
