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

    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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    • Opinion

    Economic Literacy Can Counter Socialism

    Economics is one field of study that, for the most part, has not been driven off the railroad tracks by politically correct leftists steering college coursework toward progressive ends. The wasted time spent breeding resentment toward America and teaching students how to feel offended has yet to seep into most economics curricula. Perhaps preventing that…
    Patrick Tyrrell
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    • Opinion

    Obama’s Misuse of Special Operations Forces Has Led to Larger ISIS Threat

    President Barack Obama is misusing our most elite forces. Since the onset of the fight against the Islamic State (ISIS), The Heritage Foundation has called for a greater use of American Special Operations Forces (SOF). This includes Navy SEALs and Army Rangers. Special Operations Forces are designed to conduct high-end politically charged warfare, and to…
    Steven Bucci
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    • Opinion

    Domestic Use of Military Drones Is No Big Deal. Here’s How It Works.

    Between 2006 and 2009, the Department of Defense participated in some 20 instances where its various unmanned aerial systems (drones) were used to provide reconnaissance over domestic territory in support of other government agencies, according to a recent USA Today story. This story was prompted by the release of a new Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)…
    Steven Bucci
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    • News

    Judiciary Chairman Accuses Democrats of ‘Charade’ on Supreme Court

    A Senate Judiciary Committee hearing turned into a slugfest Thursday as Republicans and Democrats traded jabs over the GOP’s blockade of President Obama’s nominee for the Supreme Court. Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, accused Senate Democrats of allowing “raw politics to infect the process” by stirring up a frivolous partisan fight. “Everybody knows any nominee…
    Philip Wegmann
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    • News

    State Environmental Officials Say Obama’s EPA Has Overstepped Its Authority

    The Environmental Protection Agency has overstepped its legal authority by imposing a regulatory agenda on the states, environmental officials at the state level testified Wednesday to a Senate committee. Randy Huffman, cabinet secretary at the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection, testified that the EPA’s flood of environmental regulations since President Barack Obama took office…
    Natalie Johnson
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    • News

    Mike Lee: D.C. Politicians Trying to Take Advantage of Flint Crisis

    The Virginia Tech professor who discovered toxic lead levels in Flint’s drinking water said he finds a federal aid bill for the Michigan city “disappointing.” Marc Edwards, an environmental and water resources engineer, told C-SPAN’s Washington Journal in an interview aired last week that the legislation does little to help Flint. Worth more than $100…
    Philip Wegmann
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    • News

    Senate Judiciary Chairman Gives Obama a Lesson on the Constitution

    Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, used his speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference today to remind grassroots activists that it’s not just President Barack Obama who gets to decide the next justice on the Supreme Court. “The Senate has its own authority to consent or not consent,” Grassley told the CPAC crowd. “There are separation…
    Daily Signal Staff
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    • News

    Political Correctness Creates National Security Openings for Terrorists, CPAC Told

    “Political correctness kills.” That’s what Deneen Borelli, chief political correspondent for the Conservative Review, told hundreds of conservative activists during a panel discussion this morning at the annual CPAC conference just outside Washington, D.C. Borelli, also a noted author, used the mass murder by two Islamist terrorists in San Bernardino, Calif., to drive her point…
    Kevin Mooney
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    • News

    Republicans on Judiciary Committee Slam Door on Any Obama Supreme Court Nominee

    All Republican members of the Senate Judiciary Committee promised Tuesday to block any candidate nominated by President Barack Obama to fill the Supreme Court seat vacated by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia. In an open letter to Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, the 11 Republican senators said they plan “to exercise our constitutional authority to…
    Philip Wegmann
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    • News

    Flashback to 1992: When Democrats Halted a Republican President’s Judicial Nominees

    If Senate Democrats get their way, Republicans won’t follow their example. That is, Senate Republicans in 2016 won’t act as Democrats did when they blocked court confirmations in 1992. Twenty-four years ago looked a lot like the inverse of today. On the eve of a presidential election, there was a Republican in the White House and…
    Philip Wegmann
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    • Opinion

    Does Congress Need to Authorize a New Use of Military Force Against ISIS?

    For over three years it has been debated whether Congress should update the Authorized Use of Military Force from Sept. 18, 2001 with a new war authorization designed to confront emerging terror threats from groups such as the Islamic State (ISIS). An Authorized Use of Military Force is not a substitute for a comprehensive strategy…
    Cully Stimson
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    • Opinion

    Homeland Security Starts Overseas

    The American people are concerned. Worries surround the Visa Waiver Program, the refugee and migrant crisis in Europe, and the ever increasing number of domestic terror plots. A recent Gallup poll lists terrorism as the number-one concern of Americans. While most Americans want to see more homeland security protections, it is critical they understand that…
    David Inserra
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    • News

    Conservative Lawmaker Calls for More ‘Compassion’ on Social Issues

    Rep. Mark Walker, R-N.C., addressed the elephant in the room: Conservatives, he said, aren’t doing well on the social issues. “I’m not going to paint a rosy picture,” Walker said Wednesday at the 2016 Conservative Policy Summit, hosted by Heritage Action for America. He added: Our culture has been inundated and continues to be inundated…
    Kelsey Bolar
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    • News

    Here’s How Mike Lee and Jeb Hensarling Say Congress Can Fix the Federal Government

    Standing beneath a painting of the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, Sen. Mike Lee and Rep. Jeb Hensarling unveiled their Article I Project to revitalize Congress. Appealing to the memory of the Founders pictured, the Republican duo said Wednesday their project is meant to encourage the legislative branch to reflex old constitutional muscles and to reassert…
    Philip Wegmann
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    • News

    This Tax Treaty Would Authorize the Automatic Sharing of Americans’ Financial Information With Foreign Governments

    In November, lawmakers on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved a number of seemingly innocuous tax treaties, which typically pass with little to no fanfare. However, buried among the eight tax treaties passed by the Senate panel is one that could have significant consequences for Americans with foreign bank accounts, as well as foreigners who…
    Melissa Quinn
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    • Opinion

    Why Cybersecurity Information Sharing Is a Positive Step for Online Security

    President Obama signed recently into law a new federal spending bill that includes the latest edition of the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act (CISA). The Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act seeks to incentivize private companies and government agencies to exchange data on cybersecurity threats and vulnerabilities. The Heritage Foundation has recommended information sharing policies because they represent the…
    Evan McDermott
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    • News

    How the TSA and Drug Enforcement Administration Joined Forces to Seize Cash at Airports

    A new report from a government watchdog criticized the Drug Enforcement Administration for working with a Transportation Security Administration security screener to flag bags containing large sums of cash, which the drug agency could then take. According to the investigation from the Department of Justice’s inspector general released earlier this month, the TSA agent was registered…
    Melissa Quinn
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