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Bill Gertz

Bill Gertz

Bill Gertz is a national security columnist for The Washington Times and senior editor at The Washington Free Beacon (www.freebeacon.com). He has been with The Times since 1985.

He is the author of six books, four of them national best-sellers. His latest book, "The Failure Factory," on government bureaucracy and national security, was published in September 2008.

Mr. Gertz also writes a weekly column called Inside the Ring, a weekly column that chronicles the U.S. national security bureaucracy.

Mr. Gertz has been a guest lecturer at the FBI National Academy in Quantico, Va.; the Central Intelligence Agency in Virginia; the National Defense University at Fort McNair in Washington; and the Brookings Institution in Washington. He has participated in the National Security Studies Program at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies and Syracuse University Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs.

He studied English literature at Washington College in Chestertown, Md., and journalism at George Washington University. He is married and has two daughters.

Articles by Bill Gertz

Jens Stoltenberg is secretary general of NATO, whose Strategic Communications Center of Excellence has released a report highlighting the growing use of "fake news" in the era of "post-truth" politics. (Associated Press/File)

NATO on fake news and post-truth

A report by the NATO Strategic Communications Center of Excellence highlights the growing use of "fake news" in the era of "post-truth" politics. Published September 19, 2018

Chinese propaganda outlets have provided extensive coverage of Bob Woodward's latest book, "Fear," which criticizes the Trump administration. (Associated Press)

China promotes anti-Trump book

China's government propaganda outlets are actively promoting the anti-President Trump book released this week by Washington Post writer Bob Woodward, called "Fear." Published September 12, 2018

Russia, like China, is believed to be using development of advanced missile defenses as cover for secret programs to build satellite-killing missiles. (Associated Press/File)

Russian ASAT test?

Russia conducted a flight test of new missile recently, and U.S. defense officials say Moscow is set to conduct another test of an anti-satellite missile called the Nudol. Published September 5, 2018

Director of National Intelligence Daniel Coats, the president's designated security executive agent, is the ultimate arbiter of granting and removing security clearances. (Associated Press/File)

More clearance revocations coming

The White House is expected to announce a second round of security clearance revocations for former government officials in the near future. Published August 29, 2018

According to a Pentagon report, China fears North Korea's provocative nuclear and missile tests will set off a regional conflict. Beijing wants stability, a denuclearized peninsula and no U.S. forces near its borders. (Associated Press)

China set for North Korea invasion

The Pentagon's latest annual report on China's military for the first time reveals contingency plans by the People's Liberation Army (PLA) to intervene in North Korea. Published August 22, 2018

"Today we are the most powerful military in the world and find ourselves in a competition among great powers," said Secretary of Defense James N. Mattis. This week he issued a memorandum to the military that emphasized the need for discipline and lethality. "We must have better individual and unit discipline than our enemies," Mr. Mattis said. (Associated Press)

China's Ukrainian jet engines

China has deployed one aircraft carrier and has plans for at least three more of the strategic power projection platforms as part of Beijing's large-scale military buildup. Published August 15, 2018

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, California Democrat said the FBI notified her five years ago that a staff member was "potentially being sought out by the Chinese government to provide information." (Associated Press/File)

China targeted Feinstein

China's intelligence service sought to recruit a Chinese-American staff member for Sen. Dianne Feinstein, a lawmaker who had access to the most sensitive U.S. secrets, but Beijing gained no secrets in the case. Published August 8, 2018

John Rood, undersecretary of defense for policy, told a security conference in Colorado last week that space is increasingly contested by adversaries that could cripple the United States in attacks on satellites. (Associated Press/File)

Pentagon policy chief on space force

Undersecretary of Defense for Policy John Rood recently previewed the Pentagon's plan to answer President Trump's call to create a space force as a separate branch of the military. Published July 25, 2018

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis met with Chinese President Xi Jinping last month in Beijing, where he revealed some of his views about the People's Liberation Army's military training and experience. (Associated Press/File)

Mattis on the Chinese military

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis is considered a warrior scholar steeped in military history. His views on the Chinese military, however, are not widely known and remain hidden -- despite several on-the-record and off-the-record meetings with reporters during his trip to Beijing last month for talks with Chinese military leaders and President Xi Jinping. Published July 18, 2018

Libyan National Army forces, under the leadership of Maj. Gen. Khalifah Haftar, is pushing for a Russian military presence in eastern Libya. (The Washington Times/File)

Russia moving into Libya

U.S. intelligence agencies are closely monitoring Russian military activities in Libya for signs that Moscow may soon build a military base in the divided North African state. Published July 11, 2018

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and Chinese Defense Minister Wei Fenghe met last week in Beijing. The delegation traveling on the E-4B plane with Mr. Mattis had to take extraordinary security precautions. (Associated Press)

China electronic spying threat

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis' recent visit to China highlighted the security dangers posed by sophisticated Chinese electronic spying in the capital of Beijing. Published July 4, 2018

Fort Greely, Alaska, this week, home of the Pentagon's ground-based interceptor missile defense system. (Associated Press/File)

Missile defenses still ready for North Korea

Alaska-based interceptor missiles capable of knocking out long-range North Korean missiles remain at a high state of readiness despite the apparent reduction in tensions with Pyongyang following the recent summit between President Trump and Kim Jong-un. Published June 27, 2018

North Korea on summit

A review of North Korean state media provides key insights about Pyongyang's approach to the issue of denuclearization. Published June 20, 2018

Mike Pompeo, President Trump's secretary of state, directed much of the activities leading up to the summit. (Associated Press)

Trump's A-team

Before leaving Singapore on Air Force One, President Trumpp credited some of the success for the historic meeting to the work done by his new team of foreign policy and national security advisers. Published June 13, 2018

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg recently testified to Congress about the company's data privacy policies. Facebook reportedly acknowledged that it shared user data with several Chinese handset manufacturers, including Huawei, a company flagged by U.S. intelligence officials as a national security threat, Lenovo, Oppo and TCL. (Associated Press/File)

Facebook and Lenovo

Social media giant Facebook is under fire for sharing data with four Chinese electronics companies that critics say pose security and privacy risks for Americans' data. Published June 6, 2018

Since its arrival in October, the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System has provided crucial fire support to Afghan National Defense and Security Forces conducting combat missions against the Taliban. (U.S. Marine Corps)

Military kills 70 Afghan Taliban leaders

U.S. military forces in Afghanistan conducted major strikes against the Taliban this month, killing up to 70 terrorist leaders, the Pentagon announced Wednesday. Published May 30, 2018

The North Koreans have selectively modernized their 1 million-troop military and regard nuclear weapons as the most effective way to prevent an attack from the United States. (Associated Press/File)

North Korea unlikely to give up nukes

A Pentagon report to Congress warns that North Korea will not easily give up its nuclear arms since the weapons are viewed as a prime guarantor keeping the Kim Jong-un regime in power. Published May 23, 2018

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis says America's has two fundamental sources of power: the power of inspiration and the power of intimidation. (Associated Press/File)

Mattis on strategy

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said the recently completed U.S. defense strategy, the first in 10 years, will be used to guide the revamping of the military during the Trump administration. Published May 16, 2018

"They continue their malign activities across the region" said Defense Secretary James N. Mattis during a Senate hearing on Wednesday about Iran. (Associated Press)

Ex-CIA officer indicted as Chinese spy

A federal grand jury in Virginia has indicted former CIA operations officer Jerry Chun Shing Lee for conspiracy to spy for China, in a case that has been under investigation for more than six years. Published May 9, 2018

An Israeli government PowerPoint sheds light on the Iranian secret arms program. As part of the plan, they worked on an underground testing program, a simulation project, a warhead project and a centrifuge program. (Israeli Government)

Details on Iran's nuclear program

Israel's intelligence coup in obtaining tens of thousands of documents on the Iranian nuclear weapons program sheds new light on Tehran's secret arms program. Published May 2, 2018