Thousands of Soldiers Now Roam Washington's Streets at $1.6M per Day

gamblor956

It's not about stopping crime. It's about normalizing the sight of armed troops in cities. Trump has already stated many times, not jokingly that he wants a third term. He acknowledges that he can't be elected for a third term. However a number of legal "experts", including noted crackpot Alan Dershowitz, have noted that election is not the only route to a third term.

m3047

It deserves scrutiny, certainly. But this: “It’s like they brought people here from all across the country, just to be here [in Washington DC]...” What about the politicians, and all of the people hired to work for the politicians? Looks like about 29% of the population were born there. Is it a bad thing that our troops have a common, shared experience of spending time in the US Capital?

snowwrestler

I mostly feel sorry for the soldiers since they are under orders to wear full camo and plates walking around DC in the summer when 90 degrees and 70% humidity are common conditions. The local news has detailed how some of them have themselves become victims of crime while here. Including of course the famous and horrible shooting when they were specifically targeted. The legality is a big question mark. The District is essentially a federal base where a bunch of people live and work. That said, there is a broad federal prohibition against using military as law enforcement. But the National Guard is not quite the active duty military either. And they’re not really doing law enforcement. I guess a future administration could decide to court martial an NG officer for executing unlawful orders, but that seems like it would be political suicide. Seems pretty unlikely. Mostly they are for show, like so many other things this administration does. Just another aspect of the overall “for show” era of the U.S.