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

    Taliban Attack on Parliament Signifies Importance of Continued U.S.–Afghan Security Partnership

    Six Taliban militants attacked the Afghan Parliament building on Monday, as lawmakers were considering the nomination of Masoom Stanekzai as the new defense minister. The attackers detonated a car bomb outside Parliament, stormed in, and reached a building next to the chamber before being killed in the firefight. No members of Parliament were injured, but…
    Siyao Li
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    • News

    Marco Rubio on How to Reform the VA

    EXETER, N.H.—Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., said that veterans should be able to choose between receiving care at a Veterans Affairs facility or from a private provider during a town hall hosted by Concerned Veterans for America in New Hampshire yesterday. Pete Hegseth, the CEO of Concerned Veterans for America, introduced Rubio and praised his efforts…
    Kate Scanlon
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    • Opinion

    Judicial Activism From Supreme Court on Marriage. Here’s How to Respond.

    Today is a significant setback for all Americans who believe in the Constitution, the rule of law, democratic self-government, and marriage as the union of one man and one woman. The U.S. Supreme Court got it wrong: It should not have mandated all 50 states to redefine marriage. This is judicial activism: nothing in the…
    Ryan T. Anderson
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    • News

    How Cyber Attack on US Personnel Office Erodes Public Confidence

    Americans will become even more reluctant to entrust themselves to the government’s electronic records because of the widening scandal of successful cyber attacks on the federal personnel agency, an expert in digital customer satisfaction says. It will take time and vigorous marketing by the Obama administration and its successor to overcome the erosion of public trust in government…
    Ken McIntyre
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    • News

    After Deaths of Veterans, Federal Agencies Stonewall Probe of ‘Candy Man’ Doctor

    A congressional investigation into a “Candy Land” physician who allegedly “doped up” and “zombified” veterans has uncovered disturbing new details. The probe has faced stonewalling and hostility from federal agencies, according to the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. (See full report at the bottom of this story.) In January 2015, reports surfaced…
    Sharyl Attkisson
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    • Opinion

    Does Obama’s New Hostage Policy Allow Negotiations With Terrorists? Details Must Be Clarified

    Today, President Obama issued a presidential policy directive (PPD-29) and executive order (EO) concerning U.S. hostage policy. These actions are the result of an administration review of and report on hostage policy after several Americans had been taken hostage by ISIS and other organizations over the last few years. In his speech outlining the changes,…
    Cully Stimson
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    • Opinion

    The World Isn’t Safer. So Why Has the National Security Budget Decreased By 15%?

    No one would argue threats to America have decreased by 15 percent since 2011. So why has the budget for protecting ourselves decreased by that much? Congress needs to consider that question as it works in the next few months to iron out America’s national security budget for the next fiscal year. Right now, our…
    Justin Johnson
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    • Opinion

    The Start of Summer Is a Reminder: We Need FEMA Reform Now

    Summer officially started this weekend. The kids are finished with school, neighbors are planning barbecues, and families are beginning to head to the beach. But with the start of summer also comes the beginning of something else—hurricane season. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has predicted that the U.S. will experience several hurricanes this…
    David Inserra
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    • Opinion

    Report: Nearly Half of Social Security Disability Beneficiaries Were Overpaid By Government

    Waste is a real and pressing issue in Social Security’s disability programs. According to a recent report by the Office of the Inspector General of the Social Security Administration, 44.5 percent of beneficiaries received more money than they were supposed to at some point between 2004 and 2014. Recipients enrolled before October 2003 were overpaid…
    Romina Boccia
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    • Opinion

    Continued Iranian Missile Development Threatens Security

    In spite of continued negotiations with the P5+1 (five permanent member countries of the U.N. Security Council plus Germany) over its nuclear program, Iran has quietly continued to develop its ballistic missile program, and the United States appears unconcerned about this growing threat. The current Iranian deal contains multiple shortcomings, including tacit acceptance of Iran’s…
    Cameron Swathwood
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    • Opinion

    How This Financial Habit of Millennials Could Increase Inequality

    Recent polling shows a big majority of Americans think it will be more difficult for this generation of millennials to achieve the American dream of climbing the economic ladder. That’s probably way too much pessimism, but what is troubling is the early indicators of how young people are faring in the economy and what they…
    Stephen Moore
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    • Opinion

    Following Agency’s Failures, TSA Reform Takes Center Stage

    The recent shortcomings of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) are not passing problems—there is a need for “fundamental” reform within the government agency, according to a panel of security specialists that convened at The Heritage Foundation on Tuesday. Chad Wolf, the former assistant administrator of the TSA, Ha Nguyen, a former adviser at the Department…
    Ryan Spaude
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    • News

    Home Free: Female Veterans Find Fresh Start in Los Angeles Housing Community

    SAN PEDRO, Calif.—Thirty minutes south of Los Angeles, nestled into a drought-dry San Pedro hillside, sits the small townhome community of Blue Butterfly Village. Named for sharing land with a preserve for the endangered Palos Verdes blue butterfly, it’s the sort of place you’d never know was there unless you were looking for it. Even…
    Madaline Donnelly
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    • Opinion

    TSA Approved 73 Airport Workers Who Were “Linked to Terrorism”

    The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) just underwent another round of government inspection, and the results are decidedly not good. The Inspector General of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a report on Monday stating that the TSA failed to identify 73 individuals with “potential links to terrorism” who work in our nation’s airports. These…
    David Inserra
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    • News

    Rick Perry Pledges to Work for Veterans ‘Until I Take My Last Breath’

    NASHUA, N.H.—Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry promised during a campaign stop today that he would reform the Department of Veterans Affairs if elected president of the United States. Perry, speaking at Nashua Community College in New Hampshire, pledged to work for veterans “until I take my last breath.” “If you elect me your president, there…
    Kate Scanlon
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    • Opinion

    Assessing the Future of the US-UK Special Relationship

    The special relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom is a political creation that reflects underlying realities. To assess the future of that relationship, and how the EU will affect it, we need to know how it began. For the relationship to come into being, the U.K. and the U.S. had to meet…
    Ted Bromund
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    • Opinion

    National Security Problems Aren’t Caused by Climate

    Earlier this month, the Obama administration released its latest blast on climate change: A cut-and-paste job from its own reports proclaiming that climate change has serious national security implications. This is embarrassingly shoddy stuff. But it’s shoddy for a reason. Now, nothing says credibility like a pile of old federal reports. But these reports do…
    Ted Bromund
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    • Opinion

    Cartoon: Where Is the ‘Security’ in TSA?

    According to ABC News, the Transportation Security Administration failed to stop undercover agents in 67 out of 70 recent probes. David Inserra, who specializes in cyber and homeland security policy at The Heritage Foundation, wrote about the issue earlier this week: Importantly, it exposes the reality that government screeners are not necessarily the right answer…
    Glenn Foden
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    • News

    ‘The Last Patrol’: Filmmaker Examines How Veterans Adjust to Civilian Life

    The Heritage Foundation and National Review are co-hosting a screening of “The Last Patrol” on Thursday. “The Last Patrol” is a documentary by Sebastian Junger, an Oscar-nominated filmmaker, journalist and best-selling author. The film explores how combat veterans readjust to civilian life after returning home from war. In an interview with The Daily Signal, Junger…
    Kate Scanlon
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    • News

    Senate Votes to Overhaul NSA ‘Spy’ Program

    The Senate approved legislation Tuesday to scale back the federal government’s collection of personal data in the post-9/11 era. Under the USA Freedom Act, the National Security Agency’s bulk data collection program would be terminated, and phone companies would be responsible for retaining customer data. The legislation amends the USA Patriot Act, which provides legal…
    Kate Scanlon
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