Skip to content
Advertisement
Author profile
Bill Gertz

Bill Gertz

bgertz@washingtontimes.com

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

"Social media is another component of unconventional strategies, and the security environment in general, that is playing a central role in recruiting individuals to causes," Army Gen. Joseph L. Votel, commander of U.S. Special Operations Command, said Wednesday in prepared testimony to the House Armed Services Committee.

Inside the Ring: Special Ops targets social media

U.S. special operations forces, elite commandos engaged in high-risk operations around the world, are adding a new focus to their portfolio of activities: social media and other unconventional information warfare threats.

March 18, 2015
Japan Maritime Self Defense Forces Capt. Yasuhiro Sato said “We have China in sight. We hope we can keep a good relationship by abiding by international rules. But we are aware that there are disputes between our nations.” (Bill Gertz)

Japan set to counter North Korean missiles

North Korea is increasing its missile capabilities that pose a growing threat to Japan, which has deployed sea-based missile defenses as a key element of its military forces, the commander of one of Japan's four Aegis-equipped missile defense ships said in an interview.

March 17, 2015
The North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un does not appear interested in holding sincere talks on giving up his nuclear arms. (Associated Press) **FILE**

Inside the Ring: Secret North Korea talks

A U.S. government source tells Inside the Ring there are signs the Obama administration is quietly working to open secret talks with North Korea as part of a plan to eventually normalize relations with the communist regime in Pyongyang. The discussions or plans for them are said to be similar to the secret diplomacy that led to the December 2014 announced initiative to normalize relations with Cuba.

March 11, 2015
National Security Adviser Susan Rice addresses the 2015 American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) Policy Conference in Washington, Monday, March 2, 2015. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)

Susan Rice White House ‘F bomb’ queen

White House National Security Adviser Susan E. Rice has developed a reputation among those who work with her for harshly criticizing people by using the "F bomb," according to current and former U.S. officials familiar with two exchanges.

March 6, 2015
President Obama speaks at the White House Summit on Countering Violent Extremism. Mr. Obama penned an op-ed outlining his position on countering "violent extremism" — a buzz phrase being used by the administration as part of politically correct efforts not to focus on the Islamic nature of the current terror threat. (Associated Press)

Inside the Ring: China tests nuclear missile for submarine launch

China carried out a flight test of its new JL-2 submarine-launched ballistic missile last month, highlighting Beijing's nuclear buildup of missile submarines. The JL-2 flight test took place Jan. 23, according to defense officials familiar with details of the test.

February 18, 2015
Lisa Monaco, assistant to the president for homeland security and counterterrorism, this week announced the creation of the Cyber Threat Intelligence Integration Center, a "czar" bureaucracy. (Associated Press)

Inside the Ring: Cyber center will add to intelligence bureaucracy

The White House national security adviser for counterterrorism announced this week that the Obama administration is setting up a cyberintelligence center aimed at providing better information and coordinated responses after cyberattacks that she said are growing more diverse and dangerous.

February 11, 2015
Russia is increasing military operations in eastern Ukraine, but the U.S. and NATO have not supplied urgently needed lethal weaponry to the Ukrainian army. Moscow has proposed restoring an agreed line of division to end an escalation of fighting. (Associated Press)

Inside the Ring: Russians advance on Ukraine

Russian military forces are crossing into eastern Ukraine in larger numbers, according to Phillip A. Karber, a Georgetown University professor currently on a fact-finding tour of the region.

January 21, 2015
3. F-15 STRIKE EAGLE
The McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing) F-15E Strike Eagle is an American all-weather multirole fighter, derived from the McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle. The F-15E was designed in the 1980s for long-range, high speed interdiction without relying on escort or electronic warfare aircraft. United States Air Force (USAF) F-15E Strike Eagles can be distinguished from other U.S. Eagle variants by darker camouflage and conformal fuel tanks mounted along the engine intakes. The Strike Eagle has been deployed for military operations in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Libya. During these operations the F-15E has carried out deep strikes against high-value targets, combat air patrols, and providing close air support for coalition troops. It has also seen action in later conflicts and has been exported to several countries.
An F-15E Strike Eagle deploys countermeasure flares Nov. 12 over Afghanistan. The aircraft is assigned to the 391st Expeditionary Fighter Squadron at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Aaron Allmon)

Inside the Ring: Pentagon to counter hypersonic missiles

The Missile Defense Agency has tasked a major defense contractor to develop advanced missiles capable of knocking out maneuvering, ultrahigh-speed targets such as China's high-tech Wu-14 hypersonic glide vehicle.

January 7, 2015
Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl was released in May after nearly five years as a hostage, and perhaps after a failed ransom payment to an Afghan national. (Associated Press)

Inside the Ring: Bowe Berghdal ransom claims grab attention of Pentagon’s inspector general

Despite an official denial from Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel that a ransom was paid, the Pentagon's inspector general last week moved a step closer to launching a formal investigation into charges that the military's Joint Special Operations Command paid a large sum in a failed bid to win the release of Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl in Afghanistan last year.

December 31, 2014
North Korea's chief delegate Kim Yong-chol has been identified as the man behind the Sony hack. (AP Photo/Jung Yeon-je, POOL)

Inside the Ring: Four-star spymaster behind North Korean hacking

U.S. intelligence agencies have identified the military officer orchestrating North Korea's state-sponsored hacking attacks, such as the one on Sony Pictures Entertainment. He is Gen. Kim Yong-chol, director of the espionage and clandestine operations service known as the Reconnaissance General Bureau, or RGB.

December 24, 2014
Computer users sit near a display with a message from the Chinese police on the proper use of the Internet at an Internet cafe in Beijing, China, in this Aug. 19, 2013, file photo. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan, File)

Inside the Ring: China: A cyberwarring state

China's strategy of large-scale cyberattacks is motivated mainly by the goal of keeping the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in power, in addition to gaining economic secrets and planning cyberattacks in a conflict, according to a new report by the Center for a New American Security.

December 3, 2014
 William A. Reinsch, National Foreign Trade Council President. CSPAN

Inside the Ring: William Reinsch says China is ‘dangerous’

William A. Reinsch, former undersecretary of commerce for export administration under President Bill Clinton, offered a surprising mea culpa in the latest annual report by the U.S.- China Economic and Security Review Commission made public earlier this month.

November 26, 2014