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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

Balloons serve multiple roles in Chinese warfare

China's People's Liberation Army plans to use high-altitude balloons to counter long-range U.S. drones and for psychological warfare operations in addition to intelligence-gathering, a review of Chinese military and technical writings reveals.

February 6, 2023

China: U.S. violated ‘international practice’ in shooting down spy balloon

China expressed outrage Sunday over the U.S. military's shooting down a day earlier of a Chinese spy balloon off the coast of South Carolina, as the Navy began retrieving wreckage from the Atlantic Ocean and the political rhetoric ramped up in Washington.

February 5, 2023

White House calls Chinese balloon flight over U.S. ‘unacceptable’ violation of sovereignty

The Biden administration on Friday said China's dispatch of a high-altitude surveillance balloon over American airspace violated U.S. sovereignty and was "unacceptable," brushing aside a Chinese apology and Beijing's claim that the high-altitude aerostat was an errant weather balloon.

February 3, 2023

China held Taiwan war council in October, general’s memo reveals

The four-star Air Force general who predicted a likely war with China within two years also revealed in his now-famous memo that Chinese President Xi Jinping convened a "war council" of senior military leaders on Taiwan recently.

February 2, 2023

Pentagon successfully tests hypersonic missile

A new ultra-high-speed missile successfully completed a flight test recently, flying at speeds greater than five times the speed of sound and as high as 60,000 feet, the Pentagon announced this week.

February 1, 2023

U.S. says Russia violating last major arms treaty

The Biden administration on Tuesday formally accused Russia of violating the New START arms treaty over what it said was Moscow's failure to allow inspections of weapons sites or agree to meetings on treaty disputes.

January 31, 2023

Ukraine war scuttles Biden arms control agenda

The State Department is preparing its annual report on compliance with arms treaties and is expected to denounce Moscow for failing to comply with the terms of the New START nuclear arms accord, complicating U.S. hopes for more weapons deals to come.

January 25, 2023

Global militaries go on shopping spree at U.S. arms expo, spurred by threats from China and Russia

Russia's war in Ukraine and China's growing threats against Taiwan have sent militaries from both regions on shopping sprees in an unlikely locale: the No. 1 gambling destination in the U.S.

January 23, 2023

No kickbacks: Army veteran says he has built a better rifle for battlefield

Army troops in the future may very well go into combat armed with a new high-technology rifle that produces almost no kick and can be outfitted with electronics capable of seeing around corners, according to the co-inventors of a new recoilless rifle.

January 19, 2023

Navy intel chief: China building for war ‘in every area’

China's military is engaged in an alarming buildup of forces in "every warfare area," the chief of Navy intelligence said in recent remarks.

January 18, 2023

Nimitz carrier strike group sails in disputed South China Sea

An aircraft carrier strike group led by the USS Nimitz is conducting operations in the disputed South China Sea, including practice strike missions by aircraft, the Navy disclosed Friday.

January 13, 2023

China’s military threatens Taiwan takeover in music video

The propaganda video shows Chinese bombers flying and an aircraft carrier launching warplanes along with guided-missile destroyers. The footage is interspersed with photos of Taiwan and images from Taiwanese cities.

January 13, 2023

China’s outspoken Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian relegated to obscure government position

The outspoken Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian, who falsely accused the U.S. military of originating the COVID-19 pandemic, will no longer be the mouthpiece for the Chinese government.

January 11, 2023

U.S. defeats China in simulated war over Taiwan, but costs are high, says new study on risks

A sophisticated new study of a simulated war between China and the U.S over Taiwan reveals Chinese forces would be defeated in the conflict but with a high cost in casualties and heavy losses of U.S. and allied large ships and aircraft, according to a think tank report made public Monday.

January 9, 2023

How China pirated U.S. technology to rapidly expand its nuclear weapon arsenal

Beijing's rapid buildup of nuclear forces has been assisted by American nuclear and missile technology obtained by Chinese spies and through U.S. space and nuclear cooperation in the 1990s.

January 8, 2023

U.S. Navy warship sails through Taiwan Strait amid rising tensions

China has been sending up to 10 aircraft into Taiwan's air defense zone almost daily. The recent escalation was seen as an expression of Beijing's anger at recent legislation signed by President Biden strengthening U.S.-Taiwan defense ties.

January 5, 2023

Pentagon to bolster Guam’s defenses with new missiles, radars

The defense buildup on Guam comes as a Chinese aircraft carrier recently sailed near the island.

January 4, 2023

U.S. rejects China’s claim American pilot to blame for near collision over South China Sea

The Chinese military jet pilot who nearly collided with a U.S. reconnaissance aircraft last month was solely responsible for the dangerous encounter, a spokesman for the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command said Tuesday

January 3, 2023

China’s nukes use U.S. technology

Beijing's rapid buildup of nuclear forces has been assisted by American nuclear and missile technology obtained by Chinese spies and through U.S. space and nuclear cooperation in the 1990s, according to a review of Chinese technology records and internal U.S. government documents.