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

    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 | Elmore Wallace
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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 | Regan Ratliff
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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 | Justin Johnson
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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 | Leah Jessen
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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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