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Ben Wolfgang

Ben Wolfgang

bwolfgang@washingtontimes.com

Ben Wolfgang is a national security correspondent at The Washington Times, a senior member of its Threat Status team, and the host and producer of the award-winning Threat Status Podcast. Ben covers national security, foreign policy, military affairs, the defense industry and the rapidly evolving landscape of military technology.
A Pennsylvania native, he joined The Washington Times in 2011 after serving as a political reporter at The Republican-Herald in Pottsville, Pa. Over the course of his career, Ben has covered the White House, Congress, and four presidential campaigns.
His reporting has earned recognition from some of journalism's most respected organizations, including the Virginia Press Association and the Society of Professional Journalists' Washington, D.C. Chapter, among other honors.
Ben has interviewed heads of state, chairmen of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, senior military commanders, cabinet secretaries, senior government officials, and the CEOs of many of the nation's largest and most influential defense companies.
Ben is a frequent guest on broadcast media, with appearances on C-SPAN, the Sirius XM POTUS channel, and other outlets.
He can be reached at bwolfgang@washingtontimes.com.

Articles by Ben Wolfgang

U.S. and Chinese national flags are hung outside a hotel during the U.S. presidential election event, organized by the U.S. Embassy in Beijing. (AP Photo/Andy Wong) **FILE**

‘Hotline’ between U.S., China feared as strategic attack tool

There are growing fears among foreign policy specialists that any new crisis communication systems with China -- updated, tactical-level versions of the cliched "red phone" between Washington and Moscow at the height of the Cold War -- could themselves become strategic tools of attack or deception.

August 4, 2020
This Monday, Nov. 3, 2014, photo provided by the U.S. Navy shows an F-35C Joint Strike Fighter conducts an approach on the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz, 40 miles off San Diego, Calif. The Navy has completed the first two landings of F-35C Joint Strike Fighters, a milestone for the new plane. (AP Photo/U.S. Navy, Andy Wolfe)

How the F-35 is driving a wedge between the U.S. and a key NATO ally

It was supposed to be an object lesson in bringing a recalcitrant ally back into line, but kicking Turkey out of the Pentagon's $1.6 trillion F-35 program has proved much more difficult than expected, raising questions about whether Washington made a threat it wasn't fully ready to back up.

August 2, 2020
The Blue Angels this week received their first F/A-18 Super Hornet. (Screen grab from Blue Angels Facebook page)

Navy Blue Angels get first Super Hornet plane

The U.S. Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron -- better known as the Blue Angels -- this week received their first F/A-18 Super Hornet, a cutting-edge plane that will replace the older aircraft used for the past three decades.

July 30, 2020
Prominent conservatives and defense experts painted an alarming picture of China's growing power at Liberty University's Freedom Summit. (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

Freedom Summit speakers urge tough line on China

The U.S. is in the midst of a deep, fundamental change in its relationship with China, and how Washington handles the growing standoff with Beijing will shape the 21st century, leading lawmakers and national security specialists said at a major conference Monday.

July 27, 2020
F-35A Lightning II aircraft receive fuel from a KC-10 Extender from Travis Air Force Base, Calif., July 13, 2015, during a flight from England to the U.S. The fighters were returning to Luke AFB, Ariz., after participating in the world's largest air show, the Royal International Air Tattoo. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Madelyn Brown)

Turkey and the F-35 — U.S. finds breaking up is hard to do

It was supposed to be an object lesson in bringing a recalcitrant ally back into line, but kicking Turkey out of the Pentagon's $1.6 trillion F-35 program has proven much more difficult than expected, raising questions about whether Washington made a threat it wasn't fully ready to back up.

July 27, 2020
A police man urges residents taking photos outside the United States Consulate to move on in Chengdu in southwest China's Sichuan province on Sunday, July 26, 2020. China ordered the United States on Friday to close its consulate in the western city of Chengdu, ratcheting up a diplomatic conflict at a time when relations have sunk to their lowest level in decades. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

U.S. leaves China consulate in Chengdu as huge crowds gather

Chinese onlookers filled the streets Sunday as American diplomats packed boxes, boarded buses and prepared to abandon the U.S. consulate in Chengdu, the latest casualty of an increasingly bitter tit-for-tat exchange between Washington and Beijing.

July 26, 2020
In this undated handout file photo provided by the U.S. Air Force, an MQ-9 Reaper, armed with GBU-12 Paveway II laser guided munitions and AGM-114 Hellfire missiles, is piloted by Col. Lex Turner during a combat mission over southern Afghanistan. (AP Photo/Lt. Col.. Leslie Pratt, US Air Force, File)

Trump relaxes rules on armed drone sales abroad

The Trump administration on Friday relaxed rules governing the export of armed drones, making it easier for American companies to sell the deadly unmanned aerial systems in a bid to compete with China's growing foothold in the market.

July 24, 2020
Maryam Rajavi, president-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), waves the traditional Iranian flag as she prepares to speak at the "Free Iran Global Summit: Iran Rising Up for Freedom" on July 17. (Siavosh Hosseini/The Media Express)

Iranian dissidents rally for regime change in Tehran

Iran's theocracy is at the weakest point of its four-decade history and facing unprecedented challenges from a courageous citizenry hungry for freedom, Iranian dissidents and prominent U.S. and European politicians said Friday at a major international rally calling for the downfall of the dictatorship in Tehran.

July 17, 2020
In this June 10, 2017, file photo provided by Operation Resolute Support, U.S. soldiers with Task Force Iron maneuver an M-777 howitzer, so it can be towed into position at Bost Airfield, Afghanistan. Moscow and Washington are intertwined in a complex and bloody history in Afghanistan, with both suffering thousands of dead and wounded in conflicts lasting for years. Now both superpowers are linked again over Afghanistan, with intelligence reports indicating Russia secretly offered bounties to the Taliban to kill American troops there. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Justin T. Updegraff, Operation Resolute Support via AP, File)

U.S. meets deadline to cut number of troops in Afghanistan

The U.S. has officially met its deadline to cut the number of troops stationed in Afghanistan, the Pentagon said late Tuesday, complying with a key requirement laid out in the Trump administration's landmark peace deal with the Taliban.

July 15, 2020
Verified image of an improvised explosive device found in Tripoli. (Image courtesy of U.S. Africa Command Public Affairs)

Pentagon: Russian mercenaries laying landmines, IEDs in Libya

The Pentagon on Wednesday said it has "clear evidence" that Russian-backed mercenaries in Libya have used landmines, IEDs and other booby traps in and around the country's capital of Tripoli, violating international law and putting innocent civilian lives in danger.

July 15, 2020
An F/A-18E Super Hornet from the Tophatters of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 14 participates in an air power demonstration over the aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74). The John C. Stennis Carrier Strike Group is returning from an eight-month deployment to the U.S. 5th and 7th Fleet areas of responsibility. (U.S. Navy Photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Apprentice Ignacio D. Perez/Released)

China, Russia military moves test U.S. resolve

Two recent standoffs with China and Russia have offered a sobering view of the coming great power competition between the U.S. and its two biggest rivals and just how dangerous it may become.

July 14, 2020
Defense Secretary Mark Esper, who has had his own public friction recently with the commander in chief, is trying to avoid getting pulled into a political battle with lawmakers who say President Trump is driving hirings, firings and promotions inside the Pentagon. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo, Pool)

Mark Esper, Defense Secretary, battles Pentagon vacancies

A rash of resignations has left U.S. military leaders scrambling to fill vacancies in key positions throughout the Pentagon and has sparked a standoff with lawmakers who are convinced that President Trump's personal politics drive hirings, firings and promotions inside the Defense Department.

July 8, 2020
Afghans inspect the inside of a mosque following a bombing, in Kabul, Afghanistan, Friday, June 12, 2020. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)

Taliban working with al Qaeda, other terrorists groups, Pentagon warns

Remote areas of Afghanistan remain home to "terrorist sanctuaries" and some Taliban members routinely cooperate with extremist groups such as al Qaeda, the Pentagon warned Wednesday in a sobering new report to Congress that paints a bleak picture of the security situation inside the country.

July 1, 2020