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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    • Opinion

    Hack of US Agencies, Fortune 500 Firms Highlights Need for Cybersecurity

    Russians are the prime suspects in a major hack this month against U.S. computer networks, compromising the data of the departments of Commerce, Treasury, and Homeland Security, as well as a number of Fortune 500 companies, in one of the largest reported cyberattacks ever. The full scope of the hack will not be known for…
    James Di Pane
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    • Opinion

    What You Need to Know About Chinese Spying on US Politicians

    Christine Fang is a Chinese national who is suspected of being a spy and has had ties to American mayors and other politicians, including Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif. Swalwell has said he has cooperated with law enforcement and cut off all ties to Fang once he knew there were concerns she was a spy. However,…
    Rachel del Guidice
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    • Opinion

    Think Twice Before Changing the Military’s Transgender Policy

    Many predict that shortly after assuming office, former Vice President Joe Biden will move to rescind the Trump administration’s 2019 policy on military service by transgender individuals. That would be within his authority. Unless Congress intervenes, presidents set and revise entrance criteria for military service. Before he takes such action, however, he should consider the…
    Thomas Spoehr
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    • News

    2 New Black GOP Congressmen Aim to Fight Socialism, Grow Conservative Base

    Two newly elected Republican congressmen, both of them black, say they aim to fight socialism and extend the reach of conservatives after they are sworn in on Jan. 3.  “I understand that we’re here together at this particular time in our country’s history for a reason. It is so we can make sure that we,…
    Rachel del Guidice
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    • News

    27 House Republicans Demand Special Counsel to Investigate Election Irregularities

    A group of 27 Republican congressmen urged President Donald Trump to order a Justice Department-appointed special counsel investigation of “legitimate questions” about election irregularities. The Republican congressmen asked Trump to direct Attorney General William Barr to appoint the special counsel, according to a letter obtained by Politico that was sent to the White House on Wednesday. Reps….
    Thomas Catenacci
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    • Opinion

    When Climate Change Distracts the US Military

    Climate change is an urgent national security threat? Here we go again. Leaving aside the debate over the causes of climate change—and the pace of that change—promoters of the argument that changes in the global climate are a “security threat” to the U.S. muddle our understanding of the term and jeopardize our ability to confront…
    Dakota Wood
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    • Opinion

    How Beijing Is Threatening Hong Kong’s Status as Global Financial Center

    China’s recent Hong Kong security legislation could be the beginning of the end for Hong Kong as one of the world’s leading financial and trading centers. Many of the 9,000 foreign firms—1,300 of them American—that have regional headquarters there are evaluating the threat from the new law and what many perceive to be a deteriorating…
    Patrick Tyrrell
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    • News

    Here Are Politicians Who Refused to Stay Home After Telling You to Do So

    A plethora of elected lawmakers and executives have repeatedly urged citizens to stay home and away from their loved ones, even for the holidays, and then refused to stay home themselves. From New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo to Los Angeles County Supervisor Sheila Kuehl, Democratic lawmakers and executives are flouting their own advice—then either apologizing…
    Mary Margaret Olohan
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    • Opinion

    How We Can Help the Military Fight for the Future of Our Country

    America’s security depends largely on the readiness of the U.S. military. Threats loom like a rising China, terrorism, and bad actors like North Korea, Iran, and others. These countries have demonstrated a desire to remake the existing world order to better suit their ideologies and interests. To remain ready, America’s armed forces depend on a…
    Thomas Spoehr
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    • Opinion

    Leftist Politicians’ Hypocrisy Demonstrates Shallowness of ‘Party of Science’

    States around the country are heading into the second wave of pandemic lockdowns, but many Americans may not be so keen on complying this time around. Progressives and Democrats are apparently the most eager to shut everything down to stop the spread of the coronavirus, even though this policy stance ignores what science is telling…
    Jarrett Stepman
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    • Opinion

    Naming Durham as Special Counsel Will Make It Harder for Biden to End Russia Hoax Probe

    Congressional Democrats weren’t happy to learn Tuesday that Attorney General William Barr appointed John Durham as a special counsel in October to continue investigating the origins of the now thoroughly discredited Trump-Russia “collusion” probe into the 2016 presidential election. Barr has extended the protection of Justice Department regulations to Durham. These regulations will make it difficult for a new…
    Hans von Spakovsky
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    • News

    Barr Appoints Special Counsel to Continue Investigation Into Origins of Trump-Russia Probe

    Attorney General William Barr designated U.S. Attorney John Durham in October as special counsel for the Justice Department, allowing him to continue his investigation of the origins of the Trump-Russia probe, according to documents obtained by The Daily Caller News Foundation. Barr revealed the decision in an interview with The Associated Press on Tuesday. The move seemingly…
    Chuck Ross
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    • Opinion

    What You Need to Know About the ‘Marginal’ State of the US Military

    The military strength of the United States again is rated as only “marginal” in a new report, the “2021 Index of U.S. Military Strength“, from The Heritage Foundation. Russia is identified as the main threat to the U.S., but China is identified in the report as “the most comprehensive threat that the U.S. faces, [and]…
    Rachel del Guidice
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    • Opinion

    3 Nuclear Deterrence, Missile Defense Initiatives the Next Administration Should Continue

    In a revived era of great power competition, the United States must face revisionist powers and rogue regimes with advancing nuclear forces and a greater willingness to use them than we have experienced in the past. It’s incumbent upon the next administration to protect American citizens and interests from these rising threats. Under the Trump…
    Patty-Jane Geller
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    • Opinion

    Why Our Military Is Only Marginally Able to Defend Our National Interests

    The future of the United States depends on our ability to meet the military challenges coming from China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran in this turbulent 21st century. According to The Heritage Foundation’s recently published 2021 Index of U.S. Military Strength, the U.S. military is only marginally able to meet the demands of defending America’s…
    J. William Middendorf
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    • Opinion

    How Social Security Reform Could Make a Popular Federal Program Better

    America’s most popular federal government program—Social Security—will be insolvent within 15 years, leaving older workers and retirees fearful of future benefit cuts. It will also leave younger workers reticent to contribute even larger chunks of their paychecks toward a program that 80% of millennials and Gen Xers doubt will be there for them when they…
    Rachel Greszler
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    • Opinion

    Lame Duck Can’t Hide From Defense Authorization

    The top two items on the agenda in the waning days of the 116th Congress should be to pass appropriations bills to keep the government from shutting down Dec. 11 and to agree on the 60th annual National Defense Authorization Act. During an event Tuesday marking release of The Heritage Foundation’s 2021 Index of U.S….
    Frederico Bartels
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    • Opinion

    Pentagon’s New Missile Interceptor Could Be a Game-Changer for ICBM Defense

    In the wee hours of Nov. 17, as Americans slept, the U.S. Navy and the Missile Defense Agency successfully shot down an intercontinental-range ballistic missile using the Navy’s Standard Missile SM-3 Block IIA interceptor launched from a Navy destroyer. This was a spectacular success for national defense for multiple reasons. Until now, the United States…
    Patty-Jane Geller
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    • News

    America’s Might Again Rated as ‘Marginal’ in Index of Military Strength

    The military strength of the United States again is rated as only “marginal” in a new report from The Heritage Foundation, a status that a key Texas congressman says doesn’t serve the American people well. “The fundamental point here is that we’re not where we should be,”  Rep. Mac Thornberry, R-Texas, ranking member of the…
    Rachel del Guidice
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    • Opinion

    National Native American Veterans War Memorial Honors Great American Patriots

    “There were terrible moments that encompassed a lifetime, an endlessness, when terror was so strong in me, that I could feel idiocy replace reason. [Yet,] I have never left my position, nor have I shirked hazardous duty. Fear did not make a coward out of me.” When asked about his call to duty, Woodrow Keeble…
    Audrey Pederson
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