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Kristina Wong

kwong@washingtontimes.com

Kristina Wong was a national security reporter for The Washington Times.

Articles by Kristina Wong

The Obama administration resisted designating as "terrorism" the 2009 shootings by Nidal Malik Hasan, above, at Fort Hood that killed 13 and wounded over 30. (Bell County Sheriff's Department via Associated Press)

Nidal Hasan sentenced to death in Fort Hood shootings

A military court Wednesday sentenced Army Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan to death by injection for killing 13 soldiers and wounding more than 30 in a shooting rampage at Fort Hood, Texas, in 2009 that he said was to protect Islamist insurgents and Taliban militiamen from U.S. troops in Afghanistan.

August 28, 2013
Sgt. Chesty XIII, official mascot of the U.S. Marine Corps, right, stares down his successor Recruit Chesty, left, during training at Marine Barracks Washington, D.C., March 20. (Official Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Dengrier Baez).

Sgt. Chesty the Bulldog retiring as Marine Corps mascot

Chesty, the English Bulldog mascot of the Marine Corps, will retire Wednesday at the Corps Barracks in Washington, D.C., after an illustrious career shaking paws and representing the Corps at community events and parades.

August 27, 2013
The USS Gravely has been deployed to the Mediterranean amid violence in Syria. In this photo, the guided-missile destroyer USS Gravely (DDG-107) arrives at Naval Air Station Key West to participate in UNITAS Atlantic Phase 2012. UNITAS is an annual multi-national exercise hosted by the U.S. 4th Fleet in the western Caribbean Sea from Sept. 17 through Sept. 28. Thirteen ships from seven partner nations are participating. (U.S. Navy photo by Lt. Cmdr. Corey Barker)

U.S. destroyers, subs on standby for strike order on Syria

Four U.S. Navy destroyers remain ready in the Eastern Mediterranean for President Obama's call to strike the Syrian regime's military assets, each equipped with up to 90 Tomahawk cruise missiles, defense officials said Monday.

August 26, 2013
A citizen journalism image provided by Aleppo Media Center, authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, shows a Syrian boy holding an Arabic placard that reads: "if Syria's children bled petrol, the entire world would have intervened," during a demonstration against the alleged chemical weapons attack at the suburbs of Damascus, in Aleppo on Aug. 21, 2013. Syrian anti-government activists accused the regime of carrying out a toxic gas attack that killed at least 100 people, including many children as they slept, during intense artillery and rocket barrages on the eastern suburbs of Damascus, part of a fierce government offensive in the area. (Associated Press/Aleppo Media Center)

Dempsey: U.S. military action would not end Syrian war

Military leaders are not "reticent, weary, or risk averse" to deeper involvement in Syria's 2-year-old civil war, but U.S. military action would do nothing to end the conflict, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff told Congress this week.

August 21, 2013
Egyptian military and policemen carry coffins covered with national flags of bodies of off-duty policemen who were killed near the border town of Rafah, North Sinai, upon their arrival at Almaza military airport in Cairo on Aug. 19, 2013. (Associated Press)

Pentagon: Aid still flowing to Egypt’s military

The Pentagon said Tuesday that it still providing aid to Egypt's army, despite reports that U.S. military assistance has been halted amid the ongoing crisis in the North African country.

August 20, 2013
**FILE** Afghan men sit among the debris of their destroyed school in the village of Budyali in the Nangarhar province of Afghanistan on March 19, 2013. Taliban militants attacked the nearby district headquarters in July 2011, then took refuge in the school. The Afghan National Army requested help from coalition forces, who responded with drones, fighter jets and rockets, leaving the school destroyed, according to village elders. (Associated Press)

U.S., Afghans gearing up for spike in Taliban violence

Afghan and coalition forces are preparing for a spike in violence by the Taliban, with about 60 days left in this year's fighting season, says the U.S. commanding general of coalition forces in East Afghanistan.

August 15, 2013
**FILE** Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel listens during a news conference at the Pentagon on June 26, 2013. (Associated Press)

Hagel: U.S.-Egypt military relationship intact despite violent crackdown

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said Thursday that the U.S. will continue its military relationship with Egypt, despite the interim government's crackdown against Muslim Brotherhood supporters of deposed President Mohammed Morsi that has resulted in more than 500 deaths.

August 15, 2013
Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Jerrel Revels proposes Monday to his boyfriend, Dylan Kirchner, as the USS New Mexico is docked at Groton, Conn. Gay spouses of service members and Pentagon civilians will begin receiving military benefits by Sept. 3. (Associated Press)

Military extending benefits to gay spouses

Gay spouses of service members and Pentagon civilians will begin receiving military benefits by Sept. 3 as long as they have a valid marriage certificate, the Defense Department announced Wednesday, clearing up months of confusion over the policy.

August 14, 2013
Army Brig. Gen. Tammy Smith (right) became the military's first openly gay flag officer when she was promoted to her current rank in an Aug. 10, 2012, ceremony. She received her new decorations from her wife, Tracey Hepner (left). (Servicemembers Defense Legal Network)

Pentagon to give benefits to married gays in September

Same-sex spouses of service members and Pentagon civilians will be able to access military benefits by Sept. 3 as long as they present a valid marriage certificate to the proper authorities, the Defense Department announced Wednesday.

August 14, 2013
A Yemeni soldier inspects a car at a checkpoint on a street leading to the U.S. embassy in Sanaa, Yemen, on Aug. 4, 2013. Security forces close access roads, put up extra blast walls and beef up patrols near some of the 21 U.S. diplomatic missions in the Muslim world that Washington ordered closed for the weekend over a "significant threat'' of an al Qaeda attack. (Associated Press)

Al Qaeda on rise despite U.S. support to Yemen

Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, whose threats have prompted the closure of Western embassies throughout the Arab world this week, is enjoying a resurgence in Yemen despite U.S. training of Yemeni troops and American airstrikes against the terrorist network.

August 6, 2013