Bill Gertz

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Bill Gertz is a reporter and analyst for The Washington Times and Fox News. He is the author of four books and co-writes a weekly column on the Pentagon and national security issues with Rowan Scarborough, called "Inside the Ring".

Gertz has focused heavily on the issue of Chinese military weapons purchases and has written about thefts and illegal transfers of weapons technology to China. [1]

Gertz has authored pieces on Iraq's weapons of mass destruction programs. In 2004 he wrote that Syria, possibly with the aid of Russian troops, exported Iraqi weapons stockpiles to its own country, a claim which has other supporters. [2]

Gertz was born in Long Island, New York on March 21, 1952. He does not have a college degree, although he has taken classes at Washington College and George Washington University. He and his wife Debra have three children.

An active member of the Unification Church (also known as the "Moonies") Gertz has been praised publicly by Rev. Sun Myung Moon for his impact on "national issues."[3]

[edit] Criticism

The 'Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists' advised "Don't believe the hype" concerning Gertz' 2005 article in the Washington Times entitled ' 'The Chinese dragon awakens', and further stated [4]:

“

If you read the Washington Times, in addition to believing that Iraqi weapons of mass destruction are hidden somewhere in Syria, you might believe that "China's aggressive strategic nuclear-modernization program" was proceeding apace. If munching on freedom fries at a Heritage Foundation luncheon is your thing, you might worry that "even marginal improvements to [China's intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs)] derived from U.S. technical know-how" threaten the United States.

So, it may come as a shock to learn that China's nuclear arsenal is about the same size it was a decade ago, and that the missile that prompted the Washington Times article has been under development since the mid-1980s.

”