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

    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 | Noah Levin
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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 | Ilana Blumsack
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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 | Maiya Clark
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  • opinion

    Why Vets’ Service Is Worthy of Reflection on Veterans Day—and the Rest of the Year
    This Veterans Day, we have great reason to thank our many veterans and reflect on the immeasurable value of their service. Celebrated every year on Nov. 11, what we now know as Veterans Day was originally called Armistice Day, which honors the day in 1918 when a ceasefire was called, leading to the end World…
    Janae Diaz | James Di Pane
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  • opinion

    Democrats Grapple With Impact of ‘Socialist’ Label
    Jinhui Chen is a 47-year-old immigrant from China who says he went through the steps to become a U.S. citizen last year so he could vote for Donald Trump.   Chen came to this country 21 years ago as a student at the University of Cincinnati. He went on to study at Northwestern University before…
    Susan Crabtree
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  • opinion

    Better Election Security Preparation Meant No ‘Russia, Russia, Russia’ in 2020 Vote
    As ballot counting continues in states across the country and potential election fraud is being flagged and litigated, we are thankfully not hearing about another form of election meddling; namely, foreign interference. Such interference, particularly from Russia, was a frequent claim in the 2016 presidential election. Government at the federal, state, and local levels have…
    Lora Ries
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  • opinion

    Preserving Our Strategic Investment in the Freely Associated States of the Pacific
    For the next several years, the U.S. is going to have to make some tough decisions in areas related to its foreign policy and national security commitments. Fortunately, there’s one easy call to make. Invest in the Pacific islands; in particular, the Federated States of Micronesia, the Marshall Islands, and Palau. As consultations get underway…
    Walter Lohman
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  • opinion

    Work Conditions in Army Ammunition Plants Pose Dangers to Employees—and National Security
    In 2017, Lawrence Bass died at an Army ammunition plant when the ammunition components he was handling exploded. He and one other man have died in the last 10 years due to improper working conditions at government-owned ammunition manufacturing facilities. These avoidable accidents are at the top of a long list of issues at our nation’s ammunition plants—issues that threaten both employees’…
    Maiya Clark | Audrey Pederson
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  • news

    The Latino Community’s Take on the Threat of Socialism in America
    A refugee from Cuba and dissidents from Nicaragua and Venezuela are warning Americans against the allure that some see in socialism and big government.  “A lot of people—because they were born under liberty [here in the U.S.]—think all the problems have to be solved with the opposite, with socialism,” said Andres Guilarte, a political activist…
    Nathalie Voit
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  • opinion

    Politicians Embracing Lockdowns Should Be Required to ‘Show Their Work’  
    In light of increasing numbers of COVID-19 cases in New York state, Gov. Andrew Cuomo has designated certain areas as “red zones.” Those living in these zones are once again subject to severe lockdown restrictions similar to those imposed in the early days of the pandemic. Do you want in-person schooling for your children? Would…
    Kevin Pham
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  • news

    Backlash Builds Against NYT for Hyping ‘Anonymous’ Author Miles Taylor as ‘Senior Administration Official’
    Journalists criticized The New York Times Wednesday for overhyping the unnamed author of “Anonymous”—Miles Taylor, the former chief of staff to a former secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. Taylor, who wrote the 2018 New York Times op-ed “Anonymous” while part of President Donald Trump’s administration, didn’t even hold the agency chief of staff…
    Mary Margaret Olohan
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  • opinion

    White House Official Alyssa Farah Reflects on Key Moments of Trump Presidency
    Alyssa Farah, the White House’s strategic communications director, joins “The Daily Signal Podcast” to discuss President Donald Trump’s leadership over the past four years and share some of her experiences working closely with him. She is proud to serve alongside the commander in chief, Farah says, because she knows that “every day, President Trump gets…
    Virginia Allen
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  • opinion

    How ‘Court Packing’ Would Damage Both the Judicial and Legislative Branches
    The concept of “court packing” has received a lot of attention recently, and rightly so. That radical move—which Democrats rejected in the 1930s—would permanently damage the independence and impartiality of the judiciary. But it’s even worse than that. The steps necessary to achieve that goal would also permanently weaken the legislative branch.  America’s Founders applied…
    Thomas Jipping
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  • opinion

    Stimulus Spending Benefits Politicians, Not Taxpayers
    I recall several presidential elections ago, an elementary school teacher wrote a newspaper column about a mock election he held in his class. Two students were nominated by their classmates, and then they campaigned for their votes. Who won the election? One of the students presented an agenda and reasonably argued for the merits of…
    Star Parker
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