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

    Judiciary Chairman: Obama Received More Confirmations Than Bush at This Point in His Presidency

    Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, is pushing back against the idea that the judicial nomination process is broken after being criticized for not holding a hearing to confirm President Barack Obama’s Supreme Court nominee. The Senate Judiciary Committee, tasked with checking the president’s power to appoint federal judges, has held hearings for 38 of Obama’s judicial…
    Leah Jessen
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    • Opinion

    Tired of the TSA? Here’s Why Private Screeners Are the Answer

    Congress is considering giving the Department of Homeland Security the authority to move around some of its funds to the beleaguered Transportation Security Administration as lines at airports grow. While this redirection might be a short-term solution (and maybe not even that as it will take time to hire and train these screeners), it is…
    David Inserra
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    • Opinion

    How Washington Politicians Wasted Billions Trying to ‘Invest in Our Future’

    The federal government has wasted billions on energy projects promising to usher in a new energy future. All Washington can do is play favorites when picking energy options (think Solyndra). Why? Because revolutions don’t come from the government—they come from the people, and the same holds true for energy. Despite many attempts to force it,…
    Nicolas Loris
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    • Opinion

    The Myth That Regulation Can Stop Financial Crises

    Regulation doesn’t prevent financial crises—a fact that the 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act conveniently ignored. Born from the myth that deregulated markets caused the 2008 crisis, Dodd-Frank inserts the federal government into virtually all components of the financial sector. The legislation polices everything from derivatives markets to payday lending, and it…
    Mollie McNeill
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    • News

    ‘Thank You for Your Service’: How One Organization Is Looking Out for Military Kids

    Every Saturday, Jihee Ewart’s three sons, Logan, Scott, and Ryan fight for a spot in front of the computer in their Leesburg, Va., home, where they patch through a connection on Skype. Half a world away on a military base in Jordan, Greg Ewart, the boys’ father, waits on the other end. Saturdays are Greg…
    Melissa Quinn
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    • Opinion

    Obama’s Green Agenda Should Be Kept Out of National Security

    This week I will be offering an amendment to this year’s National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) to prevent scarce defense dollars from being squandered on President Barack Obama’s executive orders regarding climate change. These executive orders require the Department of Defense (DOD) to incorporate a host of climate change bureaucracies into its acquisition programs, logistics…
    Rep. John Fleming
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    • Opinion

    12 Amendments to Watch for in Defense Authorization Fight

    The House Armed Services Committee will soon mark up their version of the annual National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). This bill regularly runs over a thousand pages long and sets budgets and policies for almost every aspect of our national defense. The committee markup routinely runs until 3 or 4 a.m. and includes hundreds of amendments…
    Justin Johnson
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    • Opinion

    Kansas Required Work for Food Stamps. Here’s What Happened.

    Abraham Lincoln once said, “No country can sustain, in idleness, more than a small percentage of its numbers. The great majority must labor at something productive.” Over the past several years, the number of Americans on food stamps has soared. In particular, since 2009, the number of “able-bodied-adults” without dependents receiving food stamps more than…
    Rachel Sheffield
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    • Opinion

    Private Parties Are Held Accountable for Their Actions: It’s Time Government Officials Are Too

    The federal government refused to hold its own officials accountable after the Environmental Protection Agency dumped millions of gallons of toxic water into the Animas River—a blunder that would likely result in a criminal conviction for a private party. Michigan’s attorney general, Bill Schuette, now deserves credit for doing what the federal government didn’t do: file criminal…
    John-Michael Seibler
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    • Opinion

    Exposing Waste and Mismanagement at the Department of Homeland Security

    Now more than 10 years old, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) no longer can blame its continued program failures, employee misconduct, and lingering management challenges on “growing pains.” The Department of Homeland Security no longer can blame its continued program failures, employee misconduct and lingering management challenges on “growing pains.” Since its inception, DHS has…
    Rep. Scott Perry
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    • Opinion

    Push the TSA Out

    Science tells us that water behaves very predictably: It follows the path of least resistance. Not surprisingly so do terrorist groups, and the Paris and Brussels attacks followed this trend. In both cases jihadists struck at lightly defended targets and, in the case of the Brussels airport, at a lightly defended portion of the airport,…
    Brian E. Finch
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    • Opinion

    US Looks to Improve Defense Ties With India

    A preliminary agreement between Washington and New Delhi to share military logistics marks another step forward in their defense relationship, assuming the agreement is soon formalized. The two sides have been discussing the Logistics Supply Agreement (LSA) as well as two other so-called “foundational defense agreements,” the Communications Interoperability and Security Memorandum of Agreement (CISMOA)…
    Lisa Curtis
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    • News

    Former Top Obama Official Says Operation Choke Point Had ‘Collateral’ Consequences

    One of President Barack Obama’s former top Justice Department officials behind Operation Choke Point said Thursday the program had “unintended but collateral consequences” on banks and U.S. consumers. “Unfortunately, as the investigations continue, so too have one of the unintended but collateral consequences of such vigilance: mass de-risking,” wrote Michael J. Bresnick, who previously served as…
    Kelsey Bolar
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    • Opinion

    Washington Politicians Aren’t Telling the Truth About Trade

    One of the most persistent myths about international trade is that American manufacturing workers can’t compete with foreign workers who are paid much less. That pessimistic view seemed to be confirmed earlier this year, when Carrier announced plans to move 2,100 jobs from Indianapolis to Mexico. Every time a U.S. manufacturing facility closes, it’s headline…
    Bryan Riley
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    • Opinion

    Reagan’s Defense Approach Is Needed Now More Than Ever

    President Ronald Reagan delivered his famous Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) speech over three decades ago. In it, Reagan emphasized the need to develop a comprehensive layered ballistic missile defense system for the United States. Reagan understood the importance of “rendering … nuclear weapons impotent and obsolete.” Reagan took important steps to develop a comprehensive layered…
    Michaela Dodge
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    • Opinion

    Pentagon Got ISIS’ Second Ranking Leader. Why We Need to Try Harder.

    American defense officials have announced that a very senior Islamic State (ISIS) leader has been killed in a U.S. military operation. While this is good news, it’s difficult to speculate the exact effect this will have on ISIS’ operations. It’s also pure conjecture to guess at what this success says about the U.S. military’s ability…
    James Carafano
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    • Opinion

    America’s Military Is in Much Worse Shape Than You’d Think

    America’s military is dangerously weak and unprepared today, and it’s not getting better. At least that’s what top military leaders told Congress recently. Unfortunately, the testimony of these top generals and admirals did not get the attention it deserved. For the last 15 years, the United States military has not prepared for conflict with a…
    John Sullivan
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    • News

    National Security Experts: Brussels Terrorist Attacks ‘Grave,’ ‘A Bit Embarrassing’

    When twin explosions hit Brussels early Tuesday morning, killing at least 31 people and wounding at least 270 others, they exposed a dangerous intelligence gap right in the heart of Europe. Brussels, which is the capital of Belgium, also hosts the European Council, which represents the interests of the 500 million citizens who constitute the European…
    Kelsey Bolar
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    • Opinion

    Strong US Security After Brussels Includes the Visa Waiver Program

    In the aftermath of the deadly attacks in Brussels, the media and politicians have turned their criticism back to the Visa Waiver Program (VWP). While there is an understandable and often noble desire to do something after a terrorist attack, Congress should make sure that the policies it adopts strengthen the security of the U.S.,…
    David Inserra
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    • News

    In Aftermath of Brussels Attacks, Conservatives Call for Border Security

    In the aftermath of Tuesday’s terror attacks in Brussels that left at least 30 dead, conservatives in Congress say that addressing border security is the key to ensuring terrorists don’t end up in the United States. In response to a question about how the country can improve its intelligence capabilities, lawmakers attending the monthly event…
    Melissa Quinn
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