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

    The Inability to Speak English Shouldn’t Qualify as ‘Disability’ for Social Security
    The Social Security Disability Insurance system was established as a social safety net program for workers who lose the physical or mental ability to work at a sustainable gainful activity level. It has become so much more than that. But a new rule from the Social Security Administration will improve the integrity and purpose of…
    Rachel Greszler
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  • opinion

    Judges Allow ‘Pensacola Cross’ to Remain Standing
    Their case wasn’t technically over, but eight months ago, when the Supreme Court ruled on the cross-shaped monument in Bladensburg, Maryland, residents and officials of Pensacola, Florida, couldn’t help cheering. If the justices thought removing the large World War I memorial from public property in Maryland would be “hostil[ity] toward religion,” then it certainly boded…
    Tony Perkins
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  • opinion

    Too Often, Trump Critics Rely on False, Dangerous Ideas About National Security
    No question, President Donald Trump is an unconventional statesman. On the global stage he looks like a fullback at a field hockey match. Different doesn’t always mean wrong—except to the critics who have gone to absurd lengths to weaponize policy differences to undermine the legitimacy of the president’s decisions. One of the most extreme and…
    James Carafano
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  • opinion

    ‘An Era of Great Uncertainty’: Retired Army Gen. Carter Ham on Today’s Military Challenges
    Gen. Carter Ham, retired from the United States Army, is currently president and chief executive officer of the Association of the United States Army. On today’s podcast, he tells his story of why he decided to join the military, what he learned in some of his deployments in places like Africa and Somalia, as well…
    Rachel del Guidice
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  • opinion

    New Guidelines Could Help Secure America’s Defense Technology
    Last week, the Pentagon released new guidelines on cybersecurity that it hopes will represent a big step forward for protecting American national security if implemented right.   Designed to improve the cybersecurity of Department of Defense contractors, the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification should strengthen cybersecurity practices throughout the supply chain, which would lead to more…
    James Di Pane
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  • news

    DHS Suspends New Yorkers From Trusted Travelers Programs in Wake of Illegal Alien ID Law
    The Department of Homeland Security is suspending New Yorkers from enrolling in Global Entry and other Trusted Traveler Programs in response to a new state law that bans information-sharing with the federal government. Acting Deputy DHS Secretary Ken Cuccinelli went into detail in a conference call Thursday with reporters on the department’s decision to no…
    Jason Hopkins
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  • news

    At Prayer Breakfast, Trump Slams ‘Dishonest and Corrupt’ Politicians Who Pushed Impeachment
    President Donald Trump didn’t let a prayerful audience stop him Thursday morning from calling political opponents who tried to remove him from office “dishonest and corrupt,” but he also didn’t accuse two major newspapers of running fake news on this particular day. Coming to the stage before speaking at the National Prayer Breakfast—one day after…
    Fred Lucas
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  • opinion

    After Her Husband Joined ISIS, She Started Fighting Islamic Extremism
    For Tania Joya, who was raised Muslim in London, it was a long journey to life in the United States. “I wanted to be in America, but my husband … thought that was bad for my religion and he thought that I would teach my children the wrong values,” recalls Joya. “So he took us…
    Virginia Allen
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  • opinion

    The Pentagon Has a New Common-Sense Acquisition Framework
    Last week, the Department of Defense took a big step to streamline its notoriously burdensome procurement processes. Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment Ellen Lord issued DoD Instruction 5000.02, which made her new Adaptive Acquisition Framework official policy. The Adaptive Acquisition Framework essentially breaks down the old, one-size-fits-all system of Defense Department procurement…
    Maiya Clark
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  • opinion

    On Surprise Medical Bills, Congress Should Side With Consumers, Not Special Interests
    If you’re wondering why Congress still hasn’t protected consumers from surprise medical bills, ask Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas. “It’s troubling that it’s taking this long,” Doggett, a senior member of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, recently told Politico. “But this can’t be something that is 100 percent for the provider or 100 percent…
    Doug Badger
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  • news

    How Historically Black Colleges and Universities Aid Military Preparedness
    Historically black colleges and universities have been an integral part of the U.S. military’s competitive edge, according to participants in a panel discussion Thursday at The Heritage Foundation’s inaugural forum on HBCUs. The panel discussion—hosted by James Carafano, a national security expert at The Heritage Foundation—laid out the role HBCUs play in ensuring military readiness…
    Jarrett Stepman
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  • opinion

    Social Liberal Is Silenced Over Belief That There Are ‘Only 2 Sexes’
    Weeks after J.K. Rowling expressed disdain for a British employer firing an employee for stating sex is binary, another employer—this time in the U.S.—allegedly fired a freelance columnist for saying there are only two sexes. Jon Caldara, a regular columnist for The Denver Post, announced Jan. 17 in a Facebook post that the publication had…
    Nicole Russell
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  • opinion

    Why We Must Defeat Socialism
    Today, we find ourselves at a crossroads in the history of our great nation—a nation founded upon the simple, self-evident truth that we are endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, and that to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving…
    Rep. Andy Barr
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  • news

    Another Caravan Is Headed for the US Border, but DHS Says It’s Ready
    Hundreds of Central American migrants are headed toward the United States, but the Department of Homeland Security said the border programs it has put in place, along with international cooperation, will keep them at bay. A caravan of hundreds of migrants formed near San Pedro Sula, Honduras, on Wednesday and began traveling toward the Guatemalan border, the…
    Jason Hopkins
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  • news

    Kamala Harris, Advocacy Groups Push to Suspend Judicial Confirmations During Impeachment Trial
    Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., and a coalition of left-wing advocacy groups are pressing Senate Republicans to suspend consideration of judicial nominations during President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial. Harris, who sits on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said it would be “wholly inappropriate” to confirm judges while the Senate considers whether Trump should be removed from office. “The president…
    Kevin Daley
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  • opinion

    Congress’ Animosity for Trump Is a National Security Hazard
    What do the Iranian people, who have turned out in droves to protest their own government, know that many members of Congress don’t? They realize it’s their leaders who represent a grave threat to the future of their own country and world peace, not the president of the United States. Too many in Congress have let their personal disdain…
    Kay C. James
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  • news

    5 Top Iranian Officials You Should Know
    Tensions between the United States and Iran seem to be deescalating again, but the countries clearly are still at loggerheads.  Much media attention has been focused in recent days on President Donald Trump and his national security team, including Defense Secretary Mark Esper and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. Trump ordered the U.S. drone strike in…
    Fred Lucas
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  • news

    Trump Judicial Adviser Teams Up With Conservative PR Executive in New Initiative
    One of the leading voices behind President Donald Trump’s drive to appoint originalist judges to the federal courts is teaming up with an influential public relations executive in the Washington area to launch a new project.  Leonard Leo is leaving his post running the Federalist Society, a network of conservatives lawyers, and is partnering with…
    Fred Lucas
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  • news

    Toxic Politics Complicate President’s Obligation to Notify Congress of Military Strike
    The confrontational political environment in Washington made it more difficult for the president to give Congress advance notice of the U.S. drone strike that killed Iran’s chief terrorist in Iraq, national security experts contend.  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said she plans to introduce a war powers resolution to curb future strikes against Iran, and…
    Fred Lucas
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  • opinion

    Trump’s VA Chief Confronts Challenges Facing America’s Veterans
    Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert Wilkie brings a personal and family history of military service to his high-profile job—characteristics that have helped him lead a government agency responsible for providing care for approximately 9.5 million of America’s veterans. Wilkie is the son of an Army artillery commander who grew up at Fort Bragg. Today, he is…
    Robert B. Bluey
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