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Ben Wolfgang

Ben Wolfgang

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

CLARIFIES WOMAN WAS TALKING TO POLICEMAN - In this Saturday, Jan. 11, 2020 photo, released by Iranian Students' News Agency, ISNA, a woman attending a candlelight vigil to remember the victims of the Ukraine plane crash, talks to a policeman, at the gate of Amri Kabir University in Tehran, Iran. Security forces deployed in large numbers across the capital, Tehran, on Sunday, expecting more protests after its Revolutionary Guard admitted to accidentally shooting down a passenger plane at a time of soaring tensions with the United States. (Mona Hoobehfekr/ISNA via AP)

Protests erupt after Iranian government admits shooting down airplane

Iranian citizens turned their anger toward their government Sunday after Tehran's admission that it accidentally brought down a civilian airliner last week, while President Trump warned Iran not to respond to the growing demonstrations with violence. Published January 12, 2020

President Donald Trump speaks to reporters before his New Year's Eve party at his Mar-a-Lago property, as first lady Melania Trump listens, Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2019, in Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci)

Donald Trump’s Iran, North Korea crises threaten reelection

President Trump has multiple options to deal with the two defining foreign policy crises of his first term as tensions rise with North Korea and Iran, but it's unclear whether he has the will to escalate on either front as his political future hangs in the balance. Published January 1, 2020

Marines in Kuwait were dispatched Tuesday to the U.S. Embassy compound in Iraq after a protest led by members of the Iraqi Shiite militia Kataeb Hezbollah turned violent. (Associated Press)

Pentagon sending more troops to guard U.S. Embassy in Iraq

The Trump administration scrambled to ramp up security at the U.S. Embassy in Iraq and tamp down a brewing crisis in the Middle East on Tuesday after an Iran-backed militia launched a brazen attack that briefly breached the walls of the U.S. diplomatic compound in Baghdad. Published December 31, 2019

Kenneth Braithwaite, ambassador to Norway, is expected to take the helm of the Navy. (State Department)

Kenneth Braithwaite faces Navy problems as secretary nominee

President Trump's next Navy secretary will be walking onto a command deck with a massive number of headaches, including a lingering Navy SEAL scandal, a string of shootings on bases and a competition with China to define the 21st century. Published December 30, 2019

The Iranian-backed militia said Monday that the death toll from U.S. military strikes in Iraq and Syria against its fighters has risen to 25, vowing to exact revenge. (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

Iraq militias, Iran vow ‘confrontation’ to deadly U.S. airstrikes

A powerful pro-Iran Iraqi militia vowed direct "confrontation" with the U.S. on Monday after weekend airstrikes killed 25 of its members, and the American attacks threaten to send already tense relations between Washington and Tehran spiraling downward in the new year. Published December 30, 2019

In this photo provided Sunday, Dec. 22, 2019, by the North Korean government, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un speaks during a ruling party meeting, North Korea. North Korea said Sunday Kim has convened a key ruling party meeting to decide on steps to bolster the country’s military capability. Independent journalists were not given access to cover the event depicted in this image distributed by the North Korean government. The content of this image is as provided and cannot be independently verified. Korean language watermark on image as provided by source reads: "KCNA" which is the abbreviation for Korean Central News Agency. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)

Pentagon leaks commando drill to raid North Korea

The U.S. this week dramatically ramped up surveillance over North Korea ahead of Pyongyang's anticipated "Christmas gift," while the Pentagon sent an unmistakably blunt message by leaking news of a November special-operations drill that practiced taking out top North Korean officials. Published December 26, 2019

This photo made available from the Mali Army, shows coffins being honored at a funeral ceremony in Gao, Mali, Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2019. The Mali Defense Ministry held a funeral for the 30 soldiers killed in a Monday attack on an army patrol by extremists near the border with Niger. (Mali Army via AP) ** FILE **

U.S. withdrawal from Africa creates space for terror groups return

While its Middle East "caliphate" has been shattered, the Islamic State has regrouped and quickly gained a significant foothold in Africa's unstable, impoverished Sahel region -- and experts say the U.S. is taking a serious foreign policy gamble by steering clear of major military intervention to address the growing terrorist threat. Published December 22, 2019

U.S. Marine Staff Sgt. Thomas R. Sterett takes accountability of Marines boarding U.S. Army Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawks during Black Hawk integration training as part of exercise Fuji Viper 20-1 on Camp Fuji, Japan, Oct. 28, 2019. Fuji Viper is a regularly scheduled training evolution for infantry units assigned to 3rd Marine Division as part of the unit deployment program. The training allows units to maintain their lethality and proficiency in infantry and combined arms tactics. Sterett is assigned to 4th Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, and a native of Town Falls, Idaho. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Timothy Hernandez)

Marine Corps eyes gender-integrated basic training

The push to eliminate all gender segregation at Marine Corps camps has more momentum than ever, but analysts and military insiders say there remain major real-world, physical roadblocks to coed basic training and serious questions about whether the Marines can or should follow the lead of the Army, Navy and Air Force. Published December 15, 2019

In this Jan. 15, 2018, file photo, U.S. Marines stand guard during the change of command ceremony at Task Force Southwest military field in Shorab military camp of Helmand province, Afghanistan. (AP Photo/Massoud Hossaini) ** FILE **

U.S. to pull 4,000 troops from Afghanistan: Report

The Trump administration reportedly will seek to pull as many as 4,000 troops from Afghanistan in the coming weeks, moving ahead with President Trump's desired drawdown despite recent high-profile attacks by Taliban fighters. Published December 15, 2019

Protesters stick posters featuring Chinese President Xi Jinping on a pillar during a demonstration in Central, the financial district of Hong Kong, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2019. China reacted furiously to President Donald Trump's signing of two bills on Hong Kong human rights and said the U.S. will bear the unspecified consequences. A foreign ministry statement Thursday repeated heated condemnations of the laws and said China will counteract. It said all the people of Hong Kong and China oppose the move. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

Pentagon’s top Asia official resigns

The Pentagon's top Asia policy official resigned Thursday, officials said, creating a key void inside the Defense Department at a time when the military's prime focus has turned to China and the Pacific region. Published December 12, 2019

Crewmen rest their weapons after training with Bradley fighting vehicles at a US military base at undisclosed location in Northeastern Syria, Monday, Nov. 11, 2019. The deployment of the mechanized force comes after US troops withdrew from northeastern Syria, making way for a Turkish offensive that began last month. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)

Pentagon says full Syria withdrawal many years off

Top Pentagon officials suggested Wednesday that President Trump's goal of a full withdrawal of U.S. forces from Syria may still be years away, conceding that "it's hard to foresee anytime soon" that the U.S. and its allies will completely crush the threat posed by the Islamic State. Published December 11, 2019