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Bill Gertz

Bill Gertz is a national security correspondent for The Washington Times. He has been with The Times since 1985.
He is the author of eight books, four of them national best-sellers. His latest book, "Deceiving the Sky: Inside Communist China's Drive for Global Supremacy," reveals details about the growing threat posed by the People's Republic of China. He is also the author of the ebook "How China's Communist Party Made the World Sick."
Mr. Gertz also writes 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.
He can be reached at bgertz@washingtontimes.com.

Articles by Bill Gertz

U.S. military has no carriers in Indo-Pacific waters for first time in decades

The U.S. military for the first time in decades has no aircraft carrier strike groups in the Indo-Pacific region, despite mounting tensions with China over disputed South China Sea islands, the Taiwan Strait, and a recent Chinese air incursion near Japan.

August 27, 2024

U.S. sends destroyer through Taiwan Strait as China steps up warplane incursions around island

A U.S. Navy destroyer sailed through the increasingly militarized Taiwan Strait on Thursday, after Chinese forces stepped up their own warplane and warship activities around the island this week.

August 23, 2024

Military exercise advances global missile defense

U.S. and allied military forces recently conducted joint exercises in Hawaii that further advanced regional integrated air and missile defenses.

August 22, 2024

Chinese security services are blocking America’s diplomatic efforts

American diplomatic efforts to conduct people-to-people contacts and exchanges in China are being blocked by Chinese intelligence and security services.

August 21, 2024

U.S. military unprepared for nuclear escalation in war with China, Pentagon-funded study warns

U.S. military forces are not ready to respond to tactical nuclear weapons strikes by China in a protracted war, according to a recent Pentagon-funded study.

August 20, 2024

Democrats’ policy platform pitches what it calls ‘tough but smart’ U.S.-China policy that avoids war

A Kamala Harris administration would continue America's current policy of managing strategic competition with China in order to avoid war, according to a key plank of the Democrats' 2024 policy platform made public this week.

August 20, 2024

Wary China officially finds little to love in either U.S. presidential candidate

China's communist leadership views both American presidential candidates as pursuing unfriendly policies toward China and thus expects few policy changes from either one as president after the November elections.

August 16, 2024

Pentagon report weighs the climate change threat

Inside the Ring: Rising global temperatures pose pressing challenges for the Defense Department and a new climate planning cell is needed to better monitor climate threats, according to a major new study by the Pentagon's Defense Science Board.

August 14, 2024

U.S. keeps artificial intelligence away from nuclear control; China, Russia uncertain

U.S. strategic forces prohibit the use of artificial intelligence to authorize the use of nuclear weapons even though nuclear-armed adversaries China and Russia may not, the commander of Strategic Command said Tuesday.

August 13, 2024

Mystery surrounds Hamas leader’s assassination

As the Middle East braces for a possible war between Israel and Iran, mystery surrounds the spectacular Israeli intelligence operation to assassinate the political leader of Hamas.

August 8, 2024

U.S. rejects Chinese no-first-use nuke plan

Inside the Ring: A Chinese proposal submitted to the United Nations last month calling on all nations to adopt Beijing's questionable no-first-use nuclear weapons policy is a nonstarter for the United States. A State Department official told Inside the Ring that the no-first-use policy would be unacceptable, given Beijing's massive nuclear weapons buildup and its refusal to join U.S. arms talks.

August 7, 2024

Growing Chinese threat makes Taiwan world’s most dangerous flashpoint, defense analysts warn

The growing threat of Chinese military attacks makes Taiwan one the most dangerous global flashpoints now and for years to come, according to a new think tank report.

August 6, 2024

China takes foreign spy hostility to new levels; proactive strategy proposed for U.S.

Spying and technology theft by Chinese intelligence operatives pose the most significant threat by hostile foreign spy services, according to a national counterintelligence strategy made public recently.

August 2, 2024

Chinese communist, military writings reveal plans for strategic influence operations through TikTok

The Chinese Communist Party and China's military view TikTok as one of several strategic tools for both political influence operations and military support, according to an open-source intelligence report on the short-video sharing app.

August 1, 2024

Pentagon signals move to offensive counterintelligence posture

Testimony from President Biden's nominee for the key post of undersecretary of defense for intelligence and security is shedding some light on one of the Pentagon's most closely guarded secrets -- the nation's approach to countering foreign spies.

July 31, 2024

Biden administration’s ‘dismal’ China policy faulted on Capitol Hill

The Biden administration has failed to win the strategic competition with China through ineffective policies toward Beijing, the senior Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee said this week.

July 31, 2024

Hamas, Muslim Brotherhood network feared; report finds groups engage in ideological attacks on U.S.

The Palestinian militant group Hamas operates an extensive network of supporters in the U.S. linked to the international Muslim Brotherhood jihadist group, according to a report by a former federal counterterrorism expert.

July 30, 2024

U.S. intel agencies blocked disclosure of spy balloon gear

The Biden administration went along with U.S. intelligence agencies that recommended against releasing details to the public of a Chinese surveillance balloon that transited the United States unimpeded in early 2023 before being shot down by an Air Force jet fighter over the South Carolina coast.

July 26, 2024

China and Russia in first-ever joint patrol near Alaska seen as test of U.S. resolve, focus

Russia and Chinese nuclear-capable bombers entered the U.S. air defense identification zone near Alaska on Wednesday prompting North American Aerospace Defense Command jets to intercept the aircraft, the command said in a statement.

July 24, 2024

Treasury targets China with sanctions over North Korea missile help

The Treasury Department on Wednesday imposed financial sanctions on Chinese companies and their executives for supplying missile- and space-related goods to North Korea.