''Betrayal: How the Clinton Administration Undermined American Security'' is a 1999 book by reporter

Bill Gertz William D. Gertz (born March 28, 1952) is an American editor, columnist and reporter for ''The Washington Times''. He is the author of eight books and writes a weekly column on the Pentagon and national security issues called "Inside the Ring". Du ...

. It was first published on May 25, 1999 through

Regnery Publishing Regnery Publishing is a politically conservative book publisher based in Washington, D.C. The company was founded by Henry Regnery in 1947, and is now a division of radio broadcaster Salem Media Group. It is led by President & Publisher Thomas Sp ...

and centers upon the

Clinton administration Bill Clinton's tenure as the 42nd president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 1993, and ended on January 20, 2001. Clinton, a Democrat from Arkansas, took office following a decisive election victory over Re ...

Synopsis

In the book Gertz argues that: *

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...

's foreign policy strategies of "appeasement" with China and Russia have resulted in a betrayal of American interests, leaving "the United States weaker militarily as its enemies grow stronger and the world becomes more dangerous." *Clinton's policies compromised national security by opposing development of a

missile defense Missile defense is a system, weapon, or technology involved in the detection, tracking, interception, and also the destruction of attacking missiles. Conceived as a defense against nuclear-armed intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), ...

system similar to one the Russians are developing. *"The Clinton administration's sale of sophisticated computer and satellite technology to China was influenced by campaign contributions to the Democrats from Chinese and American executives."

Reception

Critical reception has been mixed, but has received praise from former

Director of Central Intelligence The director of central intelligence (DCI) was the head of the American Central Intelligence Agency from 1946 to 2005, acting as the principal intelligence advisor to the president of the United States and the United States National Security C ...

R. James Woolsey, Jr. Robert James Woolsey Jr. (born September 21, 1941) is an American political appointee who has served in various senior positions. He headed the Central Intelligence Agency as Director of Central Intelligence from February 5, 1993, until January 1 ...

John R. Bolton John Robert Bolton (born November 20, 1948) is an American attorney, diplomat, Republican consultant, and political commentator. He served as the 25th United States Ambassador to the United Nations from 2005 to 2006, and as the 26th United Stat ...

wrote a mostly favorable review for ''Betrayal'', commenting that it was a "rather straightforward reporting covering about six years of a dangerously flawed presidency". He also criticized it for " ependingon government sources leaking classified information" but also stated that "this unfortunate fact only underlines just how corrosive the Clinton administration’s approach has been." The '' Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists'' also commented on Gertz's usage of leaked sources, which they felt weakened the book along with the author's "zeal to blame Bill Clinton for security failings both real and imagined".

References

{{reflist

External links

''Booknotes'' interview with Gertz on ''Betrayal'', May 30, 1999.
1999 non-fiction books Books about politics of the United States Books about the Clinton administration English-language books