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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

A U.S. soldier sits on an armored vehicle on a road leading to the tense front line with Turkish-backed fighters, in Manbij, north Syria, Wednesday, April 4, 2018. President Donald Trump expects to decide "very quickly" whether to remove U.S. troops from war-torn Syria, saying their primary mission was to defeat the Islamic State group and "we've almost completed that task." (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

ISIS insurgency, sleeper cells to take years to defeat

Fully defeating the Islamic State and rooting out sleeper cells that have spread across the Middle East and Africa could take years, the Defense Department's inspector general said Published November 5, 2018

In this Sunday, March 30, 2014, file photo, Islamic State group militants hold up their flag as they patrol in a commandeered Iraqi military vehicle in Fallujah, 40 miles (65 kilometers) west of Baghdad, Iraq. (AP Photo, File)

Elimination of ISIS ‘could take years,’ Pentagon inspector general says

The Islamic State has lost the vast majority of physical territory it once held, but fully defeating the terrorist group and rooting out sleeper cells that have spread across the Middle East and Africa "could take years," the Defense Department inspector general said in a sweeping report Monday that suggests final victory remains far off. Published November 5, 2018

Sen. Joe Manchin speaks to reporters after a debate with Patrick Morrisey Thursday, Nov. 1, 2018, in Morgantown, W.Va. Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Republican challenger Patrick Morrisey sparred on several issues during their only debate Thursday night, including the opioid epidemic and the confirmation of U.S. Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. (AP Photo/Raymond Thompson)

Joe Manchin-Patrick Morrisey West Virginia Senate debate hits opioids, Trump

From opioids to open borders to President Trump's pick for the Supreme Court, the race to represent West Virginia in the U.S. Senate turned ugly Thursday night as the two candidates traded vicious attacks on each other's credibility and made their final pitches to undecided voters in the crucial contest. Published November 1, 2018

Sen. Joe Manchin III, West Virginia Democrat, faces a tough re-election bid next year. Republican candidates have waged a nasty battle to win the party primary, and the race has room to grow. (Associated Press/File)

Joe Manchin social media accounts hacked

Hours before a key debate against his Republican opponent here on Thursday night, Sen. Joe Manchin's social media accounts were hacked, his Senate office confirmed. Published November 1, 2018

Sen. Joe Manchin III is the only choice for liberals in the Mountain State despite some of the Democrat’s conservative votes. (Associated Press photo)

Joe Manchin wins West Virginia liberal support despite Kavanaugh vote

Joe Manchin's disconnect from his own party reached its apex last month when he was the only Democrat to back Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh for the Supreme Court. The vote angered and bewildered liberals, though many across the state told The Washington Times this week that they will hold their noses and cast a ballot for him, anyway. Published October 31, 2018

This June 5, 2018 file photo shows West Virginia Attorney General and GOP Senate candidate Patrick Morrisey at a press conference in Charleston, W.Va. (Craig Hudson/Charleston Gazette-Mail via AP, File) **FILE**

Manchin, Morrisey clash on health care as crucial West Virginia Senate contest looms

With just one week until Election Day in a contest that could prove crucial in determining which party controls the Senate, incumbent Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin III clashed Tuesday with his Republican foe, West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey, as both men tried to undermine the other's credibility on health care and continued protections for preexisting conditions. Published October 30, 2018

This Thursday, April 5, 2018, file photo, shows a media center the Islamic State group used to screen propaganda videos, which was destroyed last summer during fighting between U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces fighters and Islamic State militants, in Raqqa, Syria. Six months after IS was driven out, residents of Raqqa feel they have been abandoned as the world moves on. They are trying to rebuild but fear everyone around them: the Kurdish-led militia that administers the majority Arab city; Syrian government forces nearby; gangs who kidnap or rob whoever shows signs of having money; and IS militants who may still be hiding among the people. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

ISIS media empire destroyed by U.S. cybercampaign

At its peak, the Islamic State's online propaganda machine was one of the group's most potent weapons, a calling card that distinguished it from any other terrorist organization that the world had ever seen. Published October 25, 2018

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis welcomes Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to the Pentagon in Washington, Thursday, March 22, 2018. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)

Jamal Khashoggi killing hits Pentagon, Saudi Arabia relationship

The admitted killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi government agents is risking not only Washington's long-standing diplomatic and economic ties with Riyadh, but could also imperil one of the Pentagon's most vital military partnerships. Published October 23, 2018

President Donald Trump stops to talk to members of the media before walking across the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Monday, Oct. 22, 2018, to board Marine One helicopter for a short trip to Andrews Air Force Base, Md., en route to Houston. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

Donald Trump threatens to pull out of Russia nuclear treaty

Washington and Moscow returned to Cold War-style rhetoric Monday as President Trump ratcheted up his threat to unilaterally pull the U.S. out of a key agreement that has kept the nuclear arsenals of both sides in check since the Reagan era. Published October 22, 2018

Space Force images on T-shirts, coffee mugs, hats and other merchandise have become a national craze. (Associated Press/File)

Donald Trump’s Space Force ignites merchandise sales

President Trump's plan for a military Space Force has not gotten off the ground yet, but it already has launched a merchandising craze of Space Force-themed T-shirts, coffee mugs, spiral notebooks and throw pillows. Published October 21, 2018

U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, center, and Singapore's Defense Minister Ng Eng Hen, front right, attend an informal lunch meeting with defense ministers at ASEAN Defense Ministers' Meeting in Singapore Friday, Oct. 19, 2018. (AP Photo/Don Wong)

Pentagon scraps another key military drill with South Korea

The U.S. and South Korea have suspended another key joint military exercise, Pentagon officials said Friday in the latest move by the Trump administration in its denuclearization efforts with North Korea. Published October 19, 2018

Manchin

Joe Manchin courts West Virginia voters in Senate race against Patrick Morrisey

Sen. Joe Manchin III on Thursday trotted out three "longtime friends" — Alabama football coach Nick Saban, West Virginia basketball coach Bob Huggins and NBA Hall of Famer Jerry West — to talk up the senator's bipartisan bona fides in a campaign commercial aimed at undecided West Virginia voters. Published October 18, 2018

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)

Troops say military more politically divided under Donald Trump: Poll

The sharp partisan divide in America has extended to the armed forces as the military becomes more politically polarized during the Donald Trump era, according to a recent survey of active-duty troops that found an even split in approval for the president. Published October 18, 2018

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." Published October 15, 2018

U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis talks to the media in the presence of Macedonian Prime Minister Zoran Zaev following their meeting at the government building in Skopje, Macedonia, Monday, Sept. 17, 2018. Mattis arrived in Macedonia Monday, condemning Russian efforts to use its money and influence to build opposition to an upcoming vote that could pave the way for the country to join NATO, a move Moscow opposes. (AP Photo/Boris Grdanoski)

James Mattis rejects Donald Trump ‘Democrat’ charge

After President Trump branded him as "sort of a Democrat," Defense Secretary James Mattis shot down the charge on Monday and said flatly that he's never been a Republican or Democrat. Published October 15, 2018