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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

In this Monday, Jan. 13, 2020 photo, U.S. soldiers stand at the spot hit by Iranian bombing at Ain al-Asad air base, in Anbar, Iraq. Ain al-Asad air base was struck by a barrage of Iranian missiles on Wednesday, in retaliation for the U.S. drone strike that killed a top Iranian commander Gen. Qassem Soleimani. (AP Photo/Qassim Abdul-Zahra)

34 U.S. troops suffered brain injuries in Iranian attack, Pentagon says

Thirty-four U.S. troops suffered traumatic brain injuries as a result of the Jan. 8 Iranian ballistic missile attack on an American military base in Iraq, Pentagon officials said Friday, revealing that many more service members were affected by the strike than initially reported.

January 24, 2020
Despite President Trump's efforts to pull American forces from a "forever war" in Syria, Pentagon leaders said the mission to protect vital oil fields from ISIS has expanded and now includes a directive to keep anyone — including the Russian military and Syrian dictator Bashar Assad's forces — away from the energy reserves. (Associated Press file photo)

U.S.-Russia ‘engagements’ show risk of oil mission in Syria

President Trump says he is determined to keep control of Syrian oil fields as the country's civil war plays out, but exactly how far the U.S. military is willing to go to protect those valuable energy reserves remains a mystery and represents a key question for the administration's broader policy in the Middle East.

January 22, 2020
In this Jan. 4, 2011, file photo, U.S Army Capt. Mathew Golsteyn, right, is congratulated by fellow soldiers following the Valor Awards ceremony for 3rd Special Forces Group at Fort Bragg, N.C. (James Robinson/The Fayetteville Observer via AP) ** FILE **

Trump silent on Maj. Mathew Golsteyn as Army launches review

President Trump has remained silent this week as the Army launches a review into the case of Army Maj. Mathew L. Golsteyn, potentially laying the groundwork for another standoff between the military and the commander in chief.

January 16, 2020
In this Jan. 1, 2020, file photo, U.S. Army soldiers from the 82nd Airborne board a C-17 aircraft at Fort Bragg, N.C., to be deployed to the Middle East. A push led by pro-Iran factions to oust U.S. troops from Iraq is gaining momentum, bolstered by a Parliament vote in favor of a bill calling on the the government to remove them. But the path forward is unclear. (Melissa Sue Gerrits/The Fayetteville Observer via AP, File)

National Defense Strategy pivot to China postponed by Middle East tensions

The Pentagon's long-term plan to refocus on "great power competition" with China has been derailed -- again -- by conflicts in the Middle East, and specialists say the U.S. military will soon face a moment of reckoning and be forced to choose which theater will be its primary focus.

January 15, 2020
Then-Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr., left, shakes hands with Gen. John W. Raymond, the commander of the U.S. Space Command, Sept. 9, 2019, during a ceremony to recognize the establishment of the United States Space Command at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs, Colo. (Christian Murdock/The Gazette via AP) ** FILE **

Gen. John Raymond sworn in as first Space Force chief

Gen. John W. "Jay" Raymond was sworn in Tuesday as the first chief of space operations for the newly established U.S. Space Force, putting the service on equal footing with other branches of the military and giving it an influential seat at the Joint Chiefs of Staff table.

January 14, 2020
In this photograph taken Saturday, Jan. 11, 2020, Iranian police officers take position while protesters gather in front of Amir Kabir University in Tehran, Iran, to remember victims of a Ukrainian airplane shot down by an Iranian missile. On Monday, Jan. 13, 2020, online videos purported to show that Iranian security forces fired both live ammunition and tear gas to disperse demonstrators protesting against the Islamic Republic's initial denial that it shot down a Ukrainian jetliner. (AP Photo)

Mike Pompeo, Donald Trump back Iran protesters against Ayatollah Ali Khamenei

Furious Iranian protesters took to the streets for the third straight day Monday as anger with leadership in Tehran reached a boiling point, while the Trump administration seized on the popular uprising as a potential game-changer in the struggle between the Iranian people and their government.

January 13, 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

December 26, 2019