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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

Houthi supporters attend a protest against the United States-led airstrikes on Friday, Jan 12, 2024, in Sanaa, Yemen. The U.S. and British militaries bombed more than a dozen sites used by the Iranian-backed Houthis. The military targets included air defense and radar sites, drone and missile storage and launching locations. (AP Photo)

No way out? Iran bogs down another U.S. president in Middle East morass

First was the Obama administration's vaunted "pivot" to Asia. Then, President Trump pledged to get out of "endless wars" in the Middle East. President Biden has tried to follow suit and radically reduce America's military footprint in the tumultuous region after more than two decades of continuous war. Published January 22, 2024

The bulk carrier Gibraltar Eagle is seen off Kristiansand, Norway, June 29, 2023. Houthi rebels fired a missile striking the U.S.-owned ship Monday, Jan. 15, 2024, just off the coast of Yemen in the Gulf of Aden, less than a day after they launched an anti-ship cruise missile toward an American destroyer in the Red Sea. (AP Photo)

New Houthi missile hits American-owned cargo ship off coast of Yemen, U.S. officials confirm

A missile fired by Houthi rebels in Yemen struck an American-owned cargo ship traveling off the country's coast near the Gulf of Aden on Monday, U.S. military officials said, the latest in a string of attacks by the Iran-backed rebel group on regional shipping lanes in recent months that have exacerbated soaring regional tensions. Published January 15, 2024

In this image provided on Friday Jan. 12, 2024 by the UK Ministry of Defence an RAF Typhoon aircraft returns to base at RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus, after striking targets in Yemen. The U.S. and British militaries bombed more than a dozen sites used by the Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen late on Thursday Jan. 11, in a massive retaliatory strike using warship- and submarine-launched Tomahawk missiles and fighter jets, U.S. officials said. (Sgt Lee Goddard, UK Ministry of Defence via AP)

U.S. hits another Houthi target in Yemen

U.S. forces late Friday struck another target in Yemen controlled by Houthi rebels, a day after American and British troops launched a massive assault on the Iran-backed group that for months has wreaked havoc on commercial shipping traffic in the Red Sea. Published January 12, 2024

In this photo provided by the United Kingdom Ministry of Defence on Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024, taken from the bridge of HMS Diamond, Sea Viper missiles are fired in the Red Sea. U.S. and British militaries are bombing more than a dozen sites used by the Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen, in a massive retaliatory strike using warship-launched Tomahawk missiles.(U.K. Ministry of Defence via AP)

U.S., Britain strike Iranian-backed Houthi sites in Yemen

The U.S. and Britain struck back at Houthi rebels in Yemen on Thursday night, marking the first major retaliation against the Iran-backed militants after weeks of warnings about their repeated assaults on commercial shipping in the Red Sea. Published January 11, 2024

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin speaks at a virtual Ukraine Defense Contact Group (UDCG) meeting, Nov. 22, 2023, at the Pentagon in Washington. The secrecy surrounding Austin's hospitalizations due to prostate cancer surgery set off a political firestorm, launched multiple reviews and triggered calls for his ouster. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen, File)

Austin’s woes mount as Pentagon watchdog to probe undisclosed hospital stay

The Pentagon's internal watchdog announced Thursday that it will investigate the circumstances surrounding Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin's secretive prostate cancer surgery and a subsequent lengthy hospital stay, and will examine whether the secretary's office has effective procedures in place for the "transition of authorities" when such an emergency arises. Published January 11, 2024

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin arrives for a classified briefing for Senators on Israel and Gaza at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2023. (AP Photo/Nathan Howard)

First congressional Democrat calls for Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to resign

The first congressional Democrat on Wednesday publicly called for Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin's resignation, marking a significant escalation in the pressure facing the Pentagon chief following a secretive prostate cancer diagnosis and a lengthy, ongoing hospital stay that was kept secret for days from the White House and Congress. Published January 10, 2024

Houthi supporters burn a representation of the U.S. flag during a rally to mark the seventh anniversary of the Houthis' takeover of the Yemeni capital, in Sanaa, Yemen, Tuesday, Sept. 21, 2021. For years, the Houthi rebels controlling northern Yemen have chanted slogans at their mass rallies calling for the destruction of Israel. But they never joined any conflict beyond the confines of their own country’s civil war or nearby in the Arabian Peninsula. The Iranian-backed Shiite Muslim force has launched at least six drone and missile attacks toward southern Israel since the Israel-Hamas war began on Oct. 7. (AP Photo/Hani Mohammed, File)

Another ‘red line’? Biden credibility on the line after Houthis launch fresh Red Sea attack

The Biden administration and its allies have reached a moment of truth in their slow-burning battle of wills with Yemen's Houthi rebels, military and national security analysts warned Wednesday, as the Biden administration faces growing pressure to counter the Iran-backed group's assault on global shipping in the Red Sea directly or risk losing credibility in the Middle East. Published January 10, 2024

Image: U.S. Army

Good enough for Grant: Pressure mounts to scrap military beard bans

It's been wielded as a weapon of intimidation in conflicts throughout history. More recently, it's been subject to an outright ban by the top brass. But the beard -- only in its most neatly trimmed form, mind you -- is enjoying a groundswell of support at the grass-roots/stubble level in militaries around the world, including in the U.S., where a historic recruiting shortfall has left Pentagon leaders scrambling to find new ways to fill the ranks. Published December 29, 2023