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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

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, center, arrives on the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz, Thursday, Feb. 25, 2021, at sea. Austin told sailors on the USS Nimitz Thursday that he hopes to avoid long ship deployments like the more than 10 months they just spent at sea. But as he made his first aircraft carrier visit as Pentagon chief, he acknowledged the competing demands for American warships around the globe as he wrestles with security threats from China in the Pacific and Iran in the Middle East. The Nimitz, which left its homeport of Bremerton, Washington, last April, has been at sea for nearly 300 days, including several weeks of pre-deployment exercises. (AP Photo/Lolita Baldor)

How the Pentagon is combating the latest emerging threat: ‘Extremism’ in the ranks

The Pentagon is trying to root out political "extremism" in the ranks, but its definition is so broad and blurry that some retired officers and military analysts fear it could inadvertently sweep up traditional Catholics, Republicans and others who aren't racist or violent but simply embrace conservative, pro-life politics. Published March 7, 2021

Recruits from Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego salute during the national anthem before a baseball game between the San Diego Padres and the Colorado Rockies, Sunday, Sept. 8, 2019, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Pentagon ‘extremism’ definition could roll up conservatives, pro-lifers, critics fear

The Pentagon is trying to root out political "extremism" in the ranks, but its definition is so broad and blurry that some retired officers and military analysts fear it could inadvertently sweep up traditional Catholics, Republicans and others who aren't racist or violent but simply embrace conservative, pro-life politics. Published March 3, 2021

This Dec. 29, 2019, aerial file photo taken from a helicopter shows Ain al-Asad air base in the western Anbar desert, Iraq. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser, File)

Rockets hit airbase in Iraq hosting U.S. troops

A burst of at least 10 rockets targeting the Ain al-Asad airbase early Wednesday resulted in no direct U.S. troop casualties, but the Pentagon later revealed that an American contractor working with the base had suffered a "cardiac episode" and died while taking cover from the attack. Published March 3, 2021

This Dec. 10, 2018, file photo, provided by the U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA), shows the launch of the U.S. military's land-based Aegis missile defense testing system, that later intercepted an intermediate-range ballistic missile, from the Pacific Missile Range Facility on the island of Kauai in Hawaii. (Mark Wright/Missile Defense Agency via AP) **FILE**

Pentagon lays out big tab to keep up with China

The U.S. military must invest heavily in high-tech radar, space-based weapons detection systems, long-range artillery and a host of other 21st-century capabilities to keep at bay an increasingly aggressive China, the Pentagon told congressional leaders this week in a sweeping new funding proposal. Published March 2, 2021

In this Feb. 9, 2021, photo provided by the Department of Defense, Hickam 15th Medical Group hosts the first COVID-19 mass vaccination on Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam. By the thousands, U.S. service members are refusing or putting off the COVID-19 vaccine, as frustrated commanders scramble to knock down internet rumors and find the right pitch that will convince troops to take the shot. Some Army units are seeing as few as a third agree to the vaccine, others are higher. (U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Anthony Nelson Jr./Department of Defense via AP) ** FILE **

Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin pushes troops to get COVID-19 vaccine

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Wednesday pushed U.S. troops to accept the COVID-19 vaccine when it's offered to them, the latest effort by the Pentagon to combat a stubbornly high rate of refusal within the armed forces. Published February 24, 2021

In this file photo from April 1, 2015, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini, right, speaks with then-U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, center, and U.S. Robert Malley, left, Senior Director for Iran, Iraq, and the Gulf States, National Security Council during a break outside the hotel at the Beau Rivage Palace Hotel as the Iran nuclear talks continue, in Lausanne, Switzerland, Wednesday, April 1, 2015. Malley currently serves as the Biden administration's special envoy to Iran and is working to salvage the Obama-era Iran deal that President Trump canceled. (AP Photo/Keystone,Laurent Gillieron) ** FILE **

Michael McCaul, Mark Green question Iran-John Kerry backchannel talks

Top Republicans in Congress called on the State Department Tuesday to immediately explain why key Obama-era diplomats now serving in the Biden administration held backchannel talks with Iran during the Trump years, saying it's crucial that the public learn more about Democrats' closed-door shadow diplomacy with Tehran. Published February 23, 2021

President Joe Biden speaks during a virtual event with the Munich Security Conference in the East Room of the White House, Friday, Feb. 19, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

Joe Biden Iran outreach backfires, pressure builds

The Biden administration came under pressure from all sides Monday in its push to restart nuclear talks with Iran, as leaders in Tehran threatened to dramatically ramp up uranium enrichment programs while officials in China and Israel laid out their own wildly different blueprints for how Washington should handle the tense diplomatic standoff. Published February 22, 2021

In this Feb. 1, 2020, file photo Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden smiles as former Secretary of State John Kerry, left, takes the podium to speak at a campaign stop at the South Slope Community Center in North Liberty, Iowa. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)

John Kerry held backchannel talks with Iran, Javad Zarif

President Trump in 2019 sought to open a back channel of communication with top Iranian officials and saw the U.N. General Assembly meeting in September as a potential opportunity to defuse escalating tension with Tehran, but the effort failed. Published February 21, 2021

President Joe Biden arrives for a virtual event with the Munich Security Conference in the East Room of the White House, Friday, Feb. 19, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

Biden: ‘I welcome’ competition with China; U.S. and Europe will win

The U.S. and its European partners abroad can compete with China in the 21st century and come out victorious, and Washington should "welcome" that high-stakes geopolitical and economic fight, President Biden said Friday in a sweeping foreign policy speech in which he sought to close the book on the Trump era and recast America's role in the world. Published February 19, 2021

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg speaks during a media conference, after a meeting of NATO defense ministers in video format, at NATO headquarters in Brussels on Thursday, Feb. 18, 2021. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo, Pool)

NATO ministers’ summit punts on Afghan troop decision

The U.S. and its NATO allies are deadlocked about their military future in Afghanistan, with a key May 1 withdrawal deadline fast approaching and no clear signals from either Washington or Brussels on the path forward. Published February 18, 2021

In this Feb. 4, 2021, photo, Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks at the State Department in Washington. The Biden administration on Feb. 18 rescinded former president Donald Trump’s restoration of U.N. sanctions on Iran, an announcement that could help Washington move toward rejoining the 2015 nuclear agreement aimed at reining in the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Joe Biden open to Iran talks, re-entering nuclear deal

Top Biden administration officials said Thursday that the U.S. would accept an invitation from the European Union to join multilateral talks with Iran, extending an olive branch that could pave the way for Washington to re-enter a landmark global nuclear deal with Tehran or craft another to take its place. Published February 18, 2021