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 Military May Soon Get a Long-Needed Boost. Why That’s Good News.

    It’s not exactly “Man Bites Dog,” but “Congress Gets Defense Spending Right” is almost as surprising a headline. For too long now, we’ve been cutting corners when it comes to the military. Years of underfunding have given us a weakened force that, despite the hard work of our brave troops, is ill-equipped to handle the…
    Ed Feulner
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    • Opinion

    The Real Value in Veterans That Hollywood Doesn’t Show You

    Nov. 11 is the day we celebrate Veterans Day. For many of us who have served, it is an important day; to large parts of Middle America, it is a time to celebrate; and to others, they couldn’t care less. What should this day mean to every American? Are we properly serving our veterans? Are…
    Steven Bucci
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    • Opinion

    Veterans Sacrificed Their Freedom So That We Can Enjoy It

    Our veterans deserve more than an official holiday and special sales at Walmart and Kohl’s. They warrant our thanks for putting themselves in harm’s way to protect us from our enemies, particularly since 9/11. As the most recent terrorist attack in New York City demonstrated, radical jihadists have not abandoned their goal of a global…
    Lee Edwards
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    • Opinion

    Podcast: Half of Millennials Would Prefer to Live in Socialist or Communist Country

    https://soundcloud.com/dailysignal/the-daily-signal-podcast-master-mixdown On today’s podcast we discussed how the emerging facts about Devin Kelley, the shooter at the Texas church, make it clear he never should have been able, under current law, to obtain a gun in the first place. We also looked at a new survey that shows half of millennials prefer socialism or communism…
    Katrina Trinko
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    • Opinion

    Senate Confirms 5 Trump Judicial Nominees in Strong Week for Rule of Law

    The Senate confirmed five new federal judges this week, bringing President Donald Trump’s total to date to 13 jurists. The Senate voted to confirm Amy Barrett from Indiana to the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Joan Larsen of Michigan to the 6th Circuit, Allison Eid of Colorado to the 10th Circuit, Stephanos Bibas of…
    Elizabeth Slattery
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    • Opinion

    Ignoring Military’s Reasons for Transgender Order, Unelected Judge Sets National Security Policy

    Liberals didn’t mind when former President Barack Obama forced his radical social policies on our military, but they certainly don’t want President Donald Trump rescinding them. So where do they turn? Unelected judges. That’s what happened Monday, thanks to U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly, who made the sweeping decision to keep the White House’s military…
    Tony Perkins
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    • News

    Security Before Amnesty, Conservative House Members Urge

    Conservative House members are concerned the Senate GOP’s plans to replace the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy will cater toward Democrat desires and ignore the root of the issue: border security. House members met with the press Tuesday at the monthly “Conversations With Conservatives” panel on Capitol Hill. They discussed the Senate GOP’s focus…
    Ian Snively
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    • Opinion

    Scathing Report Reveals ICE Directive Encouraging Agents to Seize Property for Financial Gain

    In a shocking report last week, The Intercept—an investigative reporting outlet—released portions of an internal government manual detailing how and why federal agents should seize cash and property using powerful asset forfeiture laws. From what we’ve seen of the manual, called the “Asset Forfeiture Handbook” and used by Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations arm, the…
    Jason Snead
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    • Opinion

    The Special Ops Mission in Niger Was Routine and Common. Stop Politicizing It.

    The loss of four special operations soldiers in Niger is a tragedy. We grieve as a nation, rightly, whenever we lose any of the brave young men and women who serve in uniform. That said, politicians and news media are turning the event into a farce. Having served as an Army Green Beret for 28 years,…
    Steven Bucci
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    • News

    2 States Ravaged by Opioids Show Difference Faith Makes

    HANOVER, N.H.—There is a strong correlation between lack of religious attendance and illicit drug use, research shows in contrasting two states hit hard by the opioid crisis. The parallels are demonstrated by two comparative studies of New Hampshire and West Virginia. West Virginia suffers from an ailing economy, while New Hampshire has a strong economy,…
    Fred Lucas
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    • Opinion

    Our Outdated Nuclear Policy Puts Security at Risk. Here’s How Trump Can Improve It.

    Reports have begun to swirl over what the Trump administration’s Nuclear Posture Review will hold. The Pentagon will likely release the review in the first half of 2018. In the process, the administration can take several steps to put U.S. nuclear weapons policy on a sounder footing. First and foremost, the Trump administration should recognize…
    Michaela Dodge
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    • News

    Trump Says Congresswoman ‘Fabricated’ Story About His Call With Special Forces Widow

    President Donald Trump on Wednesday accused a Florida congresswoman of misrepresenting the nature of his phone call to the widow of a special forces soldier who was killed in Niger last week. Trump claimed Rep. Frederica Wilson, D-Fla., who was with the wife of deceased Army Sgt. La David Johnson at the time of the…
    Will Racke
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    • Opinion

    Senate Must Act on Long-Overdue Reforms to Department of Homeland Security

    It’s time to reform and reauthorize the Department of Homeland Security, says the department’s acting secretary, Elaine Duke. On that score, she has the support of her predecessor, retired Gen. John Kelly, now the White House chief of staff. In Sept. 27 testimony before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, Duke addressed the…
    David Inserra
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    • News

    Trump’s National Security Team Argues for Keeping Foreign Spying Tool

    An Islamic State operative encouraged his followers on social media to carry out attacks in Europe and the United States, posting names and addresses of U.S. soldiers and writing: “Behead them in their own homes” and “Stab them to death as they walk their streets thinking they are safe.” The ISIS operative, Shawn Parson, could…
    Fred Lucas
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    • Opinion

    McConnell Wants to Ditch the Blue Slip for Judicial Nominees, and He’s Right

    Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., supports an important step toward fixing the backlog of judicial nominations that are piling up in the Senate. McConnell told The Weekly Standard that blue slips—the practice of asking senators from a nominee’s home state for their opinion before the Senate Judiciary Committee holds a hearing—should no longer be…
    Elizabeth Slattery
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    • Opinion

    Homeland Security Needs a Tougher New Leader. It Looks Like It’ll Get One.

    Want a really tough job? Try secretary of homeland security. The Department of Homeland Security comprises a sprawling enterprise touching on many of the federal government’s duties to keep the nation “safe, free, and prosperous.” Homeland security is a 24/7/365 mission. And when done right, there are few tasks more thankless. Every day, Americans get…
    James Carafano
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    • News

    Armed Services Chairman Sounds Alarm on Military’s ‘Marginal’ Strength

    The military posture of the United States is rated as marginal in a new report from The Heritage Foundation, and that worries the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee. The nation has “not been resourcing our military commensurate with what we ask our military to do,” Rep. Mac Thornberry, R-Texas, said at an event…
    Rachel del Guidice
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    • Opinion

    Failure to Adequately Fund Our Military Puts America at Risk

    Arguably the federal government’s first obligation to Americans is to keep us safe from foreign attack and to defend our vital national interests wherever they are threatened. Alarmingly, our government is on the verge of failing in this core responsibility. Our military is minimally ready, rapidly aging, and has so shrunk in size that even…
    Dakota Wood
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    • Opinion

    There Should Be No Religious Tests for Judicial Nominees

    Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, spoke Monday on the Senate floor about the case of Amy Coney Barrett, President Donald Trump’s nominee for the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. In a hearing, Democrat Sens. Dianne Feinstein of California and Dick Durbin of Illinois, brought up the religious beliefs…
    Sen. Jeff Flake
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    • Opinion

    Trump’s Decision to Ban Venezuelan Government Officials Was Long Overdue

    The president took long-needed action on Sunday when he put in place travel restrictions on a number of high-profile Venezuelan officials. As part of ban, which targets eight countries, these representatives and their relatives will no longer be allowed to obtain U.S. tourism or business visas. This move should not be interpreted as a ban…
    Ana Quintana
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