National Security News

The Daily Signal provides reports on national and homeland security issues, including military readiness, intelligence operations, border protection, and global conflicts. Featuring news, analysis, and commentary, this section explores how security policy decisions affect America’s national defense and freedom.
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  • news

    6 Outrageous Times VA Employees Did Wrong and Still Got Paid by You
    The Department of Veterans Affairs remains embroiled in a scandal that resulted in the deaths of at least 40 veterans assigned to its medical facilities. Now, a report from Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., outlines the actions of numerous VA employees who were suspended for various offenses but continued to get a salary from taxpayers. Coburn…
    Melissa Quinn
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  • opinion

    Attack in Ottawa: Facts Remain Scarce But Reality of Security Threat Remains
    Gunshots rang out at multiple locations across Ottawa this morning, including at the War Memorial and in the Parliament buildings. Much is unknown at the moment and the operation is ongoing. As of right now, police are reporting that one Canadian soldier, who was guarding the tomb of the unknown soldier at the War Memorial,…
    David Inserra
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  • opinion

    Q&A: The Pentagon’s New Ebola Team
    What is the Pentagon trying to do with this new Ebola domestic response team? When called upon by other parts of the federal government (or state governors) for help in domestic emergencies (hurricanes, floods, etc.), the Defense Department provides support. It can be logistical, medical or related tosecurity and transportation. This mission, which is part…
    Steven Bucci
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  • opinion

    As DHS Morale Continues to Fall, Congress Should Fix the Way It Handles Oversight
    Employee morale at the Department of Homeland Security has sunk to new lows, despite new leadership under Secretary Jeh Johnson and other senior DHS officials. The 2014 Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey found that only 21 percent of employees in the DHS Science and Technology Directorate had confidence in their leadership’s ability to “generate high levels…
    Ellen Prichard
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  • news

    Northern Va. Community College Spent $1.3 Million on Sketchy Contracts
    At least one of Virginia’s 23 community colleges has some serious shaping up to do, a recent state audit revealed. Northern Virginia Community College paid $1.3 million in hourly rates of up to $290 to a firm it didn’t even hold accountable to make good on its contracts, an audit from the state’s Auditor of…
    Kathryn Watson
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  • opinion

    Hey, Defense Department: Focus on ISIS, not Climate Change
    As world leaders remain locked in on the threat of ISIS, the U.S. Department of Defense laid out its plan to fight a different battle: ice caps. In a new report, DOD argues that climate change poses “immediate risks to U.S. national security” because of warmer temperatures, rising sea levels, changing precipitation patterns and more…
    Nicolas Loris
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  • opinion

    Three Changes Bobby Jindal Would Bring to American Defense Policy
    We have some idea from his two terms as governor of Louisiana what Bobby Jindal, perspective 2016 presidential candidate, would do domestically in the Oval Office. But we found out on Monday that when it comes to foreign and defense policy, Jindal would pursue a track a lot more like that of Ronald Reagan than…
    Greg Andrews
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  • news

    Hong Kong’s Former No. 2 Official Fields 7 Questions on the Future of Her City
    As the number of pro-democracy demonstrators in Hong Kong dwindles, one of the city’s veteran leaders is a key figure in seeking a compromise with the pro-Beijing camp on how to elect a new chief executive. “It is imperative that the Hong Kong government offer some concession–and a significant one–that can convince the die-hards in…
    Josh Siegel
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  • news

    After Reports of Mismanagement, VA Hospital Gets New Supply of Linens
    And then there was linen. Veterans Affairs hospital officials in Shreveport, La., stocked the cabinets with linen, pajamas and towels cabinets after an investigation exposed that the hospital routinely did not have enough of these items to meet patient needs. Three employees at the Overton Brooks VA Medical Center said linens were plentiful at the 10-story…
    Tori Richards
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  • opinion

    The Defense of Marriage Isn’t Over
    Monday’s action from the Supreme Court is, as I noted, a setback for sound constitutional self-government and a setback for a healthy marriage culture. Rather than a single Roe v. Wade of marriage, where the Supreme Court would redefine marriage across the nation, the Court, by refusing to hear any of the marriage cases, has…
    Ryan T. Anderson
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  • news

    Former Homeland Security Chief: US Can’t Take ‘Chainsaw’ to Visa Policy Because of Terrorists
    A program that allows citizens from allied European countries to visit the U.S. without a visa has drawn new concerns from lawmakers who worry that radicalized Western Muslims will easily travel here to commit acts of terror. But Michael Chertoff, the former secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security who helped expand the program,…
    Josh Siegel
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  • opinion

    3 Ways to Make Our Military Stronger
    Here is a prediction: The defense budget will get a cash Band-Aid in 2016. Washington may be about to experience one of those rare moments when smart politics coincides with smart policies. Instead of wringing its hands over surviving under “austerity” budgets as far as the eye can see, the Pentagon ought to be thinking…
    James Carafano
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  • news

    Social Conservatives Share What’s Behind the Left’s Biggest Misconceptions About Them
    Are social conservatives struggling to share their message? At the 2014 Values Voter Summit last weekend in Washington, some conference attendees said that’s the case when The Daily Signal asked them to specify the Left’s common misconceptions about social conservatives—and what they could do to communicate and advance traditional values.
    Gabriella Morrongiello | Kelsey Bolar
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  • news

    8 Ways the Obama Administration Restricts Access to Information, According to the Associated Press
    The Associated Press’ Washington bureau chief is the latest journalist to criticize the Obama administration for failing to live up to its promise of transparency. “Bush was not fantastic,” Sally Buzbee recently told a meeting of journalists. “The [Obama] administration is significantly worse than previous administrations.” Buzbee detailed eight ways the Obama administration is restricting…
    Kate Scanlon
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  • news

    VA Hospital Lacks Amenities for Patients, Yet Spends Millions on Solar Panels
    Patients at a Veterans Affairs hospital have been going without toothbrushes, toothpaste, pajamas, sheets and blankets while department officials spend money on new Canadian-made furniture, televisions to run public service announcements and solar panels. Sources inside the Shreveport, La., hospital say patients have had to contend with substandard care, as many nurses spend less time on work than on cell…
    Tori Richards
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  • opinion

    Dropping the TSA: 19th Airport Joins More Efficient Private Screening Program
    Tired of long lines at TSA airport checkpoints? Today, the Orlando Sanford International Airport (SFB) began a transition to private security screeners rather than Transportation Security Administration (TSA) screeners in a change that promises more efficient security measures. SFB just joined the TSA’s Screening Partnership Program (SPP) that allows airports to replace TSA screeners with…
    David Inserra
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  • opinion

    Happy Birthday, Long-Range U.S. Missile Defense!
    This week marks the 10th anniversary of the first operational deployment of the Ground-Based Midcourse Defense (GMD) system, the only ballistic missile defense system that currently protects the U.S. from a long-range ballistic missile threat. The interest in the development and deployment of the system came after the U.S. withdrew from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty…
    Michaela Dodge
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  • opinion

    Why Federal District Court—Not Military Commission—Was Right Court to Try Bin Laden’s Son-in-Law
    Osama bin Laden’s son-in-law was sentenced to life in prison today in a New York federal district court. Sulaiman Abu Ghaith, who was convicted in his federal terrorism trial earlier this spring, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan, who described Ghaith at the sentencing proceeding today as bin Laden’s “propaganda minister” and,…
    Cully Stimson
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  • opinion

    As Russia’s Aggression Increases, Poland Becomes More Crucial
    WARSAW — Quite suddenly, what Poland does and doesn’t do has become crucial to the United States and the Western alliance. As the next-door neighbor of Ukraine and with uncertainty about Russia’s next aggressive move, Poland matters. Adjoining as it does the three Baltic countries of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania — all prime targets of…
    Lee Edwards
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  • news

    The Scary Security Threat You’ve Probably Never Heard Of
    WASHINGTON —  Physical and cyber threats from radical Islamists dominated a Senate hearing on Wednesday, but Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., raised another challenge that may be even more pressing–an electromagnetic pulse brought on by terror attacks or solar activity. Johnson said security experts are worried the civilian world is unprepared to handle a catastrophic EMP,…
    Josh Peterson
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