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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

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Iraqi leaders slam Donald Trump’s comments over using country as base

President Trump's statement Sunday that he plans to keep U.S. troops stationed in Iraq indefinitely sparked an uproar in Baghdad on Monday, complicating an already tense relationship and potentially throwing a wrench into U.S. plans to contain Iran and monitor neighboring Syria.

February 4, 2019
In this Oct. 26, 2010 file photograph, a worker rides a bicycle in front of the reactor building of the Bushehr nuclear power plant, just outside the southern Iranian city of Bushehr.  (AP Photo/Mehr News Agency, Majid Asgaripour, File) **FILE**

Britain, France, Germany launch new trade system with Iran

Saying they remain committed to the Iran nuclear deal despite the U.S. exit last year, the United Kingdom, France and Germany late Thursday announced plans to launch a new joint system allowing them to trade with Tehran.

February 1, 2019
Opposition National Assembly President Juan Guaido takes part in a walkout against President Nicolas Maduro, in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2019. The 35-year-lawmaker has transformed from a little-known opposition figure into a commanding force in the nation's politics with the backing of U.S. President Donald Trump and two dozen other nations recognizing him as Venezuela's interim president. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

Trump call to Juan Guaido boosts opposition for Venezuela walkout

A fresh wave of protests swept Venezuela Wednesday as U.S.-backed opposition leader Juan Guaido ramped up a pressure campaign to oust embattled President Nicolas Maduro, who remained defiant in the face of rising economic pressure and international calls for a new election.

January 30, 2019
Although the Taliban continue attacks in Afghanistan, U.S. diplomats express optimism about reaching a comprehensive agreement to end the 18-year-old war and bring American troops home within 18 months. (Associated Press)

Taliban peace deal, Afghanistan War end in sight

Thousands of miles away from the political crises in Washington and the chaos in Venezuela, the Trump administration is making quiet, unexpected progress toward a tentative peace deal in Afghanistan, with top U.S. officials saying they are closer than ever to a comprehensive agreement with the Taliban in the 18-year conflict.

January 27, 2019
U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio speaks to reporters about his support for U.S. Rep. Peter Roskam during a news conference at Elkay Manufacturing in Oak Brook, Ill., Monday, Oct. 29, 2018. (Ashlee Rezin/Chicago Sun-Times via AP) ** FILE **

Marco Rubio downplays notion of U.S. military action in Venezuela

The Trump administration has insisted that "all options are on the table" in dealing with unrest and instability in Venezuela, but one prominent lawmaker said Sunday that no one in Washington is seriously considering the idea of using military force to top the embattled regime in Caracas.

January 27, 2019
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro points to someone in the crowd as he sits inside the Supreme Court for an annual ceremony that marks the start of the judicial year in Caracas, Venezuela, Thursday, Jan. 24, 2019. At right is Tibisay Lucena, president of the National Electoral Council. Venezuelans are heading into uncharted political waters after the young leader of a newly united opposition claimed Wednesday to hold the presidency and Maduro dug in for a fight with the Trump administration. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

Nicolas Maduro Venezuela military backers reject U.S.-led challenge

Venezuela's military leaders came down squarely Thursday on the side of embattled President Nicolas Maduro, giving a boost to the socialist leader in the fight to save his job and setting the stage for a long, potentially violent standoff that carries deep geopolitical implications from Caracas to Washington.

January 24, 2019
Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro gives his annual address to the nation, before members of the Constitutional Assembly inside the National Assembly in Caracas, Venezuela, Monday, Jan. 14, 2019. Venezuela’s economic crisis is deepening, with masses fleeing the country to escape runaway inflation on pace to surpass 23 million percent. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

White House: ‘All options on the table’ in Venezuela

The U.S. and nations across the hemisphere launched a stunning, coordinated rebuke Wednesday and declared that Venezuelan socialist President Nicolas Maduro is no longer his country's legitimate leader, with President Trump vowing that "all options are on the table" -- including military action -- to deal with the long-running crisis in Caracas.

January 23, 2019
Huawei Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou has been granted bail in Canada as the fight over extraditing her to the U.S. — or letting her go home — grinds on in courts. (Associated Press)

U.S. to seek extradition of Huawei executive: Report

A high-stakes battle of wills between Washington and Beijing escalated Tuesday as the Trump administration said it will formally request that Canada extradite top tech executive Meng Wanzhou to face federal charges, while the Chinese government demanded she be allowed to come home and her company fiercely rejected charges it is spying on citizens and customers around the world.

January 22, 2019
In this Thursday, Jan. 17, 2019, photo, U.S. Coast Guard Culinary Specialist Jerry Wright, right, and Petty Officer 2nd Class Lauren Laughlin, second from right, stack boxes of donated cereal at a pop-up food pantry created at the Coast Guard Academy in New London, Conn. The pantry was created by local Coast Guard-related advocacy groups to help hundreds of civilian and non-civilian Coast Guard employees to help makes ends meet during the partial federal government shutdown. (AP Photo/Susan Haigh)

Coast Guard blasts government shutdown, paycheck freeze

Coast Guard officials increasingly have been speaking out about the shutdown's impact on the service and on its member families, many of whom are turning to food pantries and local donation drives to get by.

January 21, 2019
This frame grab from video provided by Hawar News, ANHA, the news agency for the semi-autonomous Kurdish areas in Syria, shows a damaged restaurant where an explosion occurred, in Manbij, Syria, Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2019. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Syrian war monitoring group, and a local town council said Wednesday that the explosion took place near a patrol of the U.S.-led coalition and that there are casualties. (ANHA via AP)

ISIS Syria attack renews debate over terrorists defeat, withdraw

A deadly suicide attack by the Islamic State that claimed the lives of four Americans and seriously injured several others in Syria on Wednesday has reignited debate in Washington over the Trump administration's claim that the terrorist group has been defeated and raised new questions in Congress about the president's plan to withdraw the 2,000 U.S. troops stationed there.

January 16, 2019